Happy New Year!

I am so grateful to the people, my family, friends, amazing clients and supporters, for making 2011 so special, and I'm excited to see what 2012 holds for us! Here's to a wonderful New Year for you and your family filled with love, happiness and success! 

butternut squash bisque

The butternut bisque I mentioned a couple of posts back came out wonderfully! We had it with a homemade herb bread, it all tasted truly decadent and I recommend it, especially with the cold weather.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon sage leaf
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 1/4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
Nutmeg and Cinnamon to serve

Cooking:

In a large pan over medium, sauté the celery, thyme, rosemary, and sage in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes, until the celery turns tender. Add the salt and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Add the butternut squash and vegetable stock to the pan and bring the soup to simmer. Reduce the heat slightly, cover, and simmer the soup for 20 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Puree it all in a blender until it is completely smooth. Stir in the heavy cream and heat through. Serve with some nutmeg and cinnamon sprinkles on top and some bread for dipping!

merry everything and happy always

I don't think I could help but smile at that face when opening this holiday card! 

tonight's sunset

The sky tonight was filled with the most beautiful fiery colors and a giant rainbow stretched over the skyline. I could actually see the entire arch of the rainbow from the roof. It's sights like this that are truly awesome.

butternut squash

The star of the next recipe I'm trying is the butternut squash below. I had the most amazing butternut squash bisque while at a restaurant in the late fall and I'm hoping that I'm able to make taste just as good. It'll be a great cold weather food.

Happy Holidays

I hope that you have an amazing holiday filled with good food, great friends and lots of love!

mistletoe

One of the best symbols of holiday romance.. It makes me smile!

Free Bridal Beauty E-Book

Liz is a talented and accomplished makeup artist working in Western New England that does makeup for weddings as well as commercial and editorial work. Her work is beautiful.

Liz has put together an e-book "The 15 Most Common Bridal Beauty Blunders: How to dodge disaster and dazzle on your wedding day!" which is definitely worth a read. Check out Makeup Artistry by Liz for a free copy!

a wilted flower

The last stage for my overly documented flowers. With some of the flowers wilting now and others about to bloom on the same stems I had to pull off the old to make room for the new.

a different cranberry sauce

I felt like making some cranberry sauce this weekend as an easy snack.  A friend of mine a couple of holidays back hosted a great gathering of friends for an early Thanksgiving and she served a delicious cranberry sauce that included orange juice in lieu of water and some triple sec. Based on that I threw together the ingredients I could remember (without the alcohol) and added a couple spices.

Ingredients:
12 oz bag fresh cranberries
3/4 cup orange juice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
Throw in some Nutmeg and Cinnamon

Cooking:
I put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cooked them on medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced. Stir occasionally. Cranberries will start popping (don’t worry, that’s what you want them to do). And if you partially cover the pan like I did keep an eye out for the boiling up, which could've been really messy had I not noticed. Remove from heat and serve!

sunday brunch and shopping

What a great Sunday in DC! Jeff and I started the day with brunch at Belga Cafe. I had green eggs with spinach, belgian cheese and bacon. I was nervous about green eggs, and of course there were a couple of Dr. Seuss jokes, but the meal was amazing. I'd definitely go back again (though I'd remember to make reservations next time!). Jeff had banana waffles with whipped cream and chocolate, also amazing.

Next, we walked around the Eastern Market, checking out the fruits and vegetables and the nearby flea market. 

We had an errand to run in Georgetown and afterward we wandered around there a bit. I noticed Serendipity and wanted to check it out, can you believe Jeff doesn't know the movie? The hot chocolate was good, but actually (believe it or not) too chocolatey for me. The apple cobble though was just amazing. 

still blooming

These flowers are still opening up, blooming, and smelling amazing. I might be a little obsessed with how pretty they are!