Bittersweet Barcelona

Greetings from reality! I can't honestly say I'm happy to be back in the real world, but I suppose I couldn't live on that balcony forever.

(Trust me, I would've if it were possible)

There are so many things I want to tell you about our trip to Barcelona, but because this is a blog and not the next great Russian novel, I'm going to break it up into a series of posts.

As many people already heard me constantly bitching and whining about know, the main purpose of this trip was to run the Barcelona Marathon. But after a case of anterior compartment syndrome and being prohibited from running and high heels, my marathon dreams were dashed (as opposed to me...who was hobbled. har har har). Going into the trip I knew there was no hope of me running the race, so I was surprised by how emotional I was when we arrived. There were tears involved. Quite a few of them.

After a few minutes of wallowing and self-pity, I dried my eyes and got a hold of myself. As part of my marathon registration, I was enrolled in a 4k Breakfast Run the morning before the big day. Even though 4k is nowhere near the 42k I was hoping for, Sean and I decided to wake up early in the morning of our first day in Barcelona and do the race.

I am so glad I did. The "race", albeit for fun rather than a medal, completely changed my attitude about everything.

I wanted a run in a foreign city that would forever change me and that's what I found, even if it was less than 3 miles long. Funny how life lessons are hidden in the strangest of places isn't it?

I will always remember this race for a number of reasons. First of all, there was this guy:

Oops, sorry. Wrong guy. But he's pretty cool, too. I meant this guy:

South Africa's representin! There was an insane amount of pride people had for their countries that weekend. As we stood at the starting line, announcements were made in a million different languages. They also played Mamma Mia to kick off the race. Who knew ABBA was the international anthem?

Here's our attempt at a video. It's only 11 seconds long, but I promise it'll be the most amazing 11 seconds of your life. (Errr, maybe. Depends on your quality of life I suppose)

Another cool aspect of this race? Women are outnumbered by 6 to 1. Not only does this make for superb eye candy while mid stride, but I totally felt like a bad ass leading a pack of men.

(See that one girl there? Yeah, I smoked her. I know, I know...it's supposed to be about enjoying the experience not your time, but sometimes you just can't control that competitive spirit)

Speaking of the views though, this was definitely the best part of the experience. Huffing up a hill isn't so hard when this is to your right:

The homestretch of the 4k had us entering through the Athlete's Tunnel of the 1992 Olympic stadium. It was so cool. Everyone started cheering and yelling. Sean managed to get a quick video of it:

Getting to be in the front of the crowd entering into an empty Olympic stadium is pretty darn nifty if you ask me. It was especially great getting to do it with Sean. A former marathoner himself, he hadn't run a race in six years due to a knee injury.


So getting to cross the finish line together, despite both of our injuries was something special. It was also really metaphoric for us. We've been struggling a lot lately with the stresses of living in a foreign country, being homesick, and having no money. In many ways, our time in London really put a damper on our spirits. As we watched our savings drain away to mere pennies and Sean spent many months out of work, we questioned our decisions. But as we crossed the finish line, hand in hand, we realized that we did it together.

We won our own private race. We're getting by and in many ways we are thriving. When you look at it, our time in London is like the 4k. It's shorter than we had anticipated and we may have been injured along the way, but we've accomplished something together. So I needed to quit the tears and appreciate what I did have instead of focusing so much on what I didn't. I no longer look at that breakfast run or our time in London as a 2nd rate consolation prize to the real race, it's simply another form of training...

because ultimately the marathon still awaits us. Marriage, jobs, babies: The whole schabang. And I know without a doubt that we'll cross that finish line together too.

(Well, except for the whole poopy diapers thing. That's all Sean)

I'mma cut you.

First off, I realize titling my post "I'mma cut you" is not nice, nor is it grammatically correct. However, it is a suitable alternative to the many, many rap lyrics I had flowing through my head that I would've rather used. But in the vein of being somewhat professional and appropriate and all, let's just leave it at that vaguely written threat, mmmkay?

As part of my Valentine's Day present, Sean enrolled us in a Jamie Oliver knife skills/cooking class.

I have a secret love for the prep work aspect of cooking. Chopping and dicing ingredients is really relaxing for me. Give me a giant pile of onion and garlic and I will happily drift off into my thoughts and mince away to my heart's content.

But I am also the same girl who has crashed her car no less than 7 times (Seriously. You should see my car insurance bill.) Lady Grace I am not.

So out of love and concern for my safety and the safety of all ten of my little wiggling digits, Sean and I headed off to Jamie Oliver's joint in Clapham yesterday.

It was a restaurant, test kitchen, and store rolled all into one. When you walked in, you were immediately hit with a waft of orgasm-inducing scented breads and muffins. We made sure to snag some garlic foccacia bread for the trip home.

Scrumptious? Yes. Cheap? No.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any pictures during the actual class due to the whole food sanitation/trying to avoid cutting off your fingers thing. Ironically enough, while we weren't allowed to photograph while slicing and dicing, we were allowed to drink wine.

A lesser wine drinker cook than I would be daunted by this task, but since I've been mixing my booze with dinner for years now, it wasn't a problem for me. (Does that sound as bad to you as it does to me? Errrr....)

I managed to survive the class with a meal in hand and all 10 fingers still intact. Success!

On the menu? Thai mango salad with grilled prawns.

We chopped A LOT: cabbage, peppers, garlic, ginger, cucumber, chile, mango, spring onions, and fresh coriander. We were also supposed to rip the heads off our prawns and pull out the poop trail ourselves, but one look into my bowl and seeing those beady little eyes staring back at me and I said, "uh uh, no way, I'll stick with my wine and veggies ma'am". The end result was beautiful though:

I learned some really cool techniques during the class. Did you know you can peel ginger root with a spoon instead of a knife or potato peeler and it wastes less of the ginger?

One of the most important things I learned was how to properly do the "rock chop", which is one of the basic styles of cutting. I'm sure many of you already know about this (especially Becca and all my other culinary experts!), but it saved me from losing a pinkie or two.

The first thing to remember when using any big, sharp instrument is to protect yourself. I never realized how many times I let my fingers fly all over the place when I'm cutting vegetables. The #1 thing the instructor emphasized was the importance of tucking in your thumb and creating a wall with your fingers.

This morning I was particularly excited to attack a pineapple we had (who gets excited over chopping fruit? Such a nerd.)

I made a short video for you on the rock chop technique they taught us yesterday. Enjoy the bed head!

Untitled from Marie Evans on Vimeo.

(One of the other major things you'll notice in the video is that I'm not holding the handle of the knife properly. I was told it's a bad habit to stick your index finger on the knife the way I do and can be an indication that the knife isn't comfortable enough for you. I didn't even realize I was doing it until I watched the video 2 minutes ago. Woops!)

Hope that was helpful! Now go pour yourself a big glass of wine, grab your sharpest knife, and start cutting! (Wow! Worst. advice. ever.)

In other news, to update the 52 Flavor Challenge post from yesterday...Next week's flavor: Saffron! I've never worked with this spice before, so I'm excited to try it! I've heard it can be notoriously expensive, so I'm going to see what I can find. If you have any recipes or cost-cutting techniques to cooking with saffron, let me know!

52 Flavors Tally:
Foods I like: 5 (Fennel, Indian, British desserts, Chickpeas, Kale)
Foods I dislike: 3 (Figs, Quinoa, Hummus)

Valentine's Day

Ahhhh February 14th.

Whether you love it, hate it, or hate that you love it...it's here. But please, don't let today divide or define you. Single vs. Couple. Alone vs. Together. That's not what really matters.

Today isn't just about the love, folks. Love is something that should happen every day. You don't need a calendar to remind you how much you care about the people in your life.

The real root of this inane little holiday? Chocolate.

It's alllllll about the chocolate. And you don't need a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife to treat yourself to a piece. (or two. or twelve.)

So from one chocolate-lovin' gal like myself to you, I wish you a day filled with candy bars, cocoa-laced cookies and sugar comas.

52 Flavors Challenge Week 6: Chicka-Chicka-Slim-Shaaaady

(I've been waiting 3 weeks for this chickpea challenge just so I could use that title)

The chickpea challenge has been an interesting one. I tried 3 different recipes and had different opinions on each of them. First up: hummus.

(psssst! Can you spot the fake, plastic lemon?)

Did not like it. Not even a little bit.

This week was the first time when my true pickiness came into play. The smell and texture completely freaked me out. It was cold and lumpy and that last thing I wanted to do was put it in my mouth (that's what she said).

Perhaps if we had simply bought hummus instead of making it ourselves, I would feel differently. Lucky for you, Sean decided this was the perfect opportunity to capture a video of me trying it for the first time.

There are a couple of things you need to know before watching the video though:

1. It is the weekend. Make-up is not mandatory on weekends. Don't be scared by what you're about to see. I'm just keepin' it real, yo.

2. I swear WAY too much. I swore without even realizing it. Swearing is not classy or ladylike kids. Don't do it.

3. In times of turmoil, chocolate is never the answer. Turn to your faith or a friend/family member for help. (Just kidding. Chocolate is always the answer. duh.)

Untitled from Marie Evans on Vimeo.

Moving on, recipe #2 was Channa Masala and it was delicious.

Due to my newfound obsession with Indian food, I knew this wouldn't be a problem for me. I used Jenna from Eat, Live, Run's recipe as a starter but made a few changes. I omitted the jalapenos and added spinach. I also used curry powder instead of separate spices.

Earlier this week, there was a slight, errr complication, as a result of it though. Being new to the Indian food scene, I didn't realize the exact effect eating 2 giant bowls of fiber-filled beans and spices before a run would have on me. Oops.

The final recipe came from Angela over at Oh She Glows and it was a sweet potato "salad" of sorts.

The recipe calls for cinnamon, onions, sea salt and coconut oil to be mixed with sweet potato and chick peas. Recipe #3 was just okay. I think next time I'd use this recipe as a base but mix it up a bit. It had a nice flavor to it with the cinnamon and coconut oil, but it was a little dry. I usually roast my sweet potato with garlic, cinnamon and olive oil and I like that more.

It was my first time using Coconut Oil which was exciting, although I had to pry the jar out of Sean's hands on more than one occasion.

(He used to live in Hawaii and misses it terribly. I found him cradling the jar and sniffing it like a crack addict, mumbling something about floral-printed board shorts)

This week with chickpeas has been a good one. It's certainly better for my waistline and sugar levels than last week's dive into the deep end of dessert land. But I can't end the week without taking a minute to talk about this:

This is water that the chickpeas come in. Am I the only one who finds it to be the most disgusting and repulsive thing in the world? A couple of the hummus recipes I found called for adding the drained water from the can into the mixture and it made me want to vomit on the spot.

Ew. Ew. Ew. EW! Please tell me I'm not alone in this. Someone else out there finds that water to be straight up nasty right?

God I hope so.

Next week's flavor: Kale! I won't lie to you, I'm not terribly excited for this one. To me, cooking with kale is like shopping for shampoo. It's not something you really look forward to buying and using, but you know you need to and that it'll be good for you in the end. So to save me from greasy hair and thunder thighs, please send me any and all kale recipes you have!!!

52 Flavors Tally:
Foods I like: 4 (Fennel, Indian, British desserts, Chickpeas)
Foods I dislike: 3 (Figs, Quinoa, Hummus)

The Best Reader Request EVER

Last night, I received the following comment from a reader named Lauren:

Hi, kinda random comment... but would you mind doing a post about how you're planning a wedding from across the ocean? I'm planning a wedding less then a hour from where I live and I think it's hard; how are you handling it!?

Ummmm...are you asking if I want to talk about my wedding plans? Does a bear shit in the woods? Heck yes I would.

I've been avoiding discussing my wedding woes on here for fear of alienating my audience. But if a reader requests it, well goshdarnit, I guess I better do it. (For all the naysayers: Would I jump off a bridge if someone told me to? Yep! Yes indeed I would if the bridge allowed me to brag about my wedding plans first. Thankyouverymuch)


When it comes to planning from abroad, I think your degree of success (and sanity) comes from your personality. Are you decisive? Do you stress out easily? Is Google your BFF?

I'm incredibly decisive - I never second guess myself and I know what I want when I want how I want (*cough* qualities of a bridezilla to be? *cough*) - so decision making thus far has been easy for me, especially these days. In today's technologically advanced society, you can pretty much find anything online. I'm Facebook friends with our photographer and have tweeted my reception venue. I also made sure to set up a wedding website and a Facebook group that I keep up to date with hotel deals, flight rates, and other important info for my potential guests!

My steps for wedding planning from abroad success are simple:

1. Stalk my prey via the internet
2. Decide what I like
3. Ask Sean if he likes it
4. Convince Sean he likes it
5. Call/email the necessary person to set it up
6. Obsessively stare at whatever it is website

I think the other key element to your level of stress is time management. We did a lot of things in the first few months and have since hit a lull which I'm thoroughly enjoying! Come spring, I know it'll be time to pick up the craziness again!

Before doing ANYTHING, sit down with your fiance and whoever is paying for the wedding and talk about what everyone envisions for the day. Keep that vision in mind as you go through the process...and when it gets too hectic remember: The entire building could set on fire, your hair could turn out horribly, the food could taste like crap, but at the end of the day you'll be married to the person you love and that's all that really matters. (Well that, and an open bar. Priorities people. Priorities.)

Here's what I've done so far (accompanied with my completely unprofessional, unsolicited advice)

Budget

By far the #1 thing to figure out first. Champagne taste on a beer budget only leads to disappointment. What things are important to you? Sean and I each picked a couple key things we labeled as our "big ticket items". For him? Food and alcohol. For me? Chiavari chairs.

Worth. Every. Extra. Penny.

Destination for Ceremony and Reception
This should definitely be the other first thing you decide. It sets the tone for the entire wedding, not to mention places can fill up insanely fast...like 2 years in advance?!?! Some brides are just straight up crazy, yo.


We're getting married on Hilton Head Island, SC. We chose HHI because we wanted a laid-back beach vibe without it being too far away for our guests convenience. This seemed like the perfect solution.


We picked the place without actually visiting it, but only because my family has vacationed in Hilton Head for many years and my parents lived in Savannah so we were familiar with the resort and the territory surrounding it. Sean had some hesitation because he's never been there, but he trusted my instincts on this one (Reason #3948039842 why he rocks).

Save The Dates
This was one of the things I really needed to get done before we left for London. So despite the fact the wedding was still a YEAR away, I sent out the Save the Dates (which, by the way, are usually known as STDs. Couldn't we create a better acronym?) after Labor Day this past year. (Also, because it is a destination wedding, we wanted to give people more notice so they could hopefully save money and find the best deals on flights and hotels!)



I created these postcards on Zazzle.com and was going to mail them as is, but quickly realized they were too small to have postage stamps and address labels put onto them.


Instead, I ordered Tiffany blue envelopes and my dad and I spent several hours hand feeding them through our printer at home to put pretty addresses on them. (Ohhh the things a dad will do for his only daughter)



My advice? Don't spend a ridiculous amount of time or money on things like this...especially the envelope and address labels. I even made a special trip to the post office to buy stamps with wedding rings on them. In retrospect, I feel silly because people just threw the envelopes away.

Photographer
One of the best things to do when you first start planning is to figure out what aspects of the wedding are the most important to you and your fiance. Sean and I both ranked photography as one of our top budget busters. We jumped into the search for the right photographer immediately after securing the venue. Luckily, we instantly fell in love with Michael Moss.


I could gush about his work all day. Fran-freaking-tastic. We are SO excited!


Photography is one of those things I am confident you can choose over the internet. Any good photographer will have a strong online portfolio or blog for you to browse through. I think the most important thing if finding someone who matches your style (and budget of course!)

Dress!!!!
First off, you are straight up CRAZY if you think I'm showing you a photo of my dress on here. Not gonna happen. Not even a little sliver of the bottom train. Nada.

I can tell you it does NOT look like this:


I will give you a hint though. It's white. And pretty. Really really ridiculously pretty. (You can read about the day I bought it here)

Don't waste time before looking for a dress because a) it's like playing the best version of dress up EVER and b) most dresses take 6 to 8 months to be ready and then you still have several fittings to schedule before the big day.

Also, set a budget and stick to it. It's one day folks. ONE DAY. I gave myself a reasonable guideline to stick within and was very firm with all the sales associates at the boutiques I went to: do NOT give me a dress over my price budget, I won't bother trying it on.

Bridesmaid dresses:
I knew I wouldn't be able to go with my girls while living in London, so I took the opportunity to get it done quickly. We all went together and tried on a bunch. Luckily, one dress fit everyone nicely and it was exactly what I had envisioned. Bingo! Bango! Done!


(My dresses are NOT orange. They are a bright blue. So close your eyes and imagine all the ugly away)

Motif
Motif just sounds SO much classier than the word Theme doesn't it? Sean and I decided to incorporate a "travel" motif throughout our wedding to highlight something that is such a big part of us. These accents will be weaved throughout different parts of the ceremony and reception. For example, our escort cards will be hand-made luggage tags and people will be seated at countries we've traveled to together instead of table numbers.

Instead of having a traditional guest book, Sean and I have been collecting postcards from all over the world and are planning to have people sign the backs of those instead.

EDIT: This is why I LOVE blogging. Someone just caught a typo in my sign above. Thank goodness for you guys!!!!

Paper
This is perhaps my favorite part of the planning process. Being a huge font snob and a teensy bit anal retentive, I knew immediately I'd design all my own paper products for the wedding. We're doing pocketfold invitations with inserts and all sorts of other magic goodies, but I don't want to give those away yet. (I am planning on doing a massive post on it once they are completed this spring so hold tight!) I'm also designing the ceremony program, luggage tags, menus, and other assorted items. (Like this fab little sign that will accompany the candy buffet we are serving with dessert)


This part of the planning can be extremely stressful and time consuming if you don't enjoy graphic design or arts and crafts. If you don't have a DIY bone in your body, then go to The Paper Source and order some bitchin' invites through them. You won't be sorry! They are equally beautiful (if not more so) for a fraction of the stress (but perhaps not the cost).

In terms of time, I know most invitations go out around 6 weeks before the wedding. Because ours is a destination, we are sending them out much earlier and asking for an RSVP earlier as well.


Miscellaneous items:
Over the past several months we've also hammered out a number of other details including the officiant, cocktail napkins (Yes. I specially designed cocktail napkins. I AM that girl. They are freaking awesome though. Just wait and see!), flip flops for my bridesmaids, and the accommodations for our wedding party.


Typically with a destination wedding, it is the responsibility of the bride and groom to provide accommodations for their wedding party (they pay for their own flights). Sean and I rented this beach house right near the ceremony site. It was a large chunk of our budget, but it's serving as our rehearsal dinner location and a myriad of other things as well. To us, this was one of the big ticket items we wanted to focus on because it sets the tone for the entire weekend! We want our friends and family to relax, enjoy themselves, and look at this as an opportunity to have fun.

Still left to tackle on The List (aka the Excel spreadsheet I created that haunts me in my sleep):

• flowers - You can definitely find a florist on the internet. I found one based off reviews from The Knot. Because I'm not doing flower centerpieces, this item hasn't caused me a lot of concern. The vendor I'm working with just requested that I email a bunch of pictures of my ideas and when I get down for a visit in April we'll figure it out then!


• music - This has been the trickiest to organize from afar. We found two bands we enjoyed and both are already booked! So the search continues...


• cake - While I could technically do this online, it's just not the same. You can't taste it or feel that sugar high through Google unfortunately. Another thing I'll do in person this spring.


• hair - I've found a few hair salons I liked, but I am holding out until April when I can get a hair trial done


• details - I have 3948203947324 items that need to be completed by September, but they are all things that need to be done Stateside so for now, I wait!

I feel like there are a million other things that I'm leaving out, but wedding buzz is one of those things that is only contagious for certain people. If you want to chat all things girly, gushy, and wedding-y, I'd love to exchange ideas and share other things I'm incorporating into the wedding, but let's do it privately. (or in a big group g-chat if you're into that sort of thing. ohhh yeahhhhh.)

Email me or tweet me and we can talk about colors, honeymoons, and veil lengths until the cows come home! Otherwise I fear the sights and sounds of eye-rolling and gagging will be heard throughout the blogosphere. I wouldn't want to lose any of my valuable readers...

...I'm counting on them to pitch in and buy me the Kitchen-Aid mixer of my dreams as a wedding present. (I'm not kidding either.)

(Okay, yes I am)

Guest Post: Sean's Stuff Old People Like

Note from Marie: We interrupt today's regularly scheduled program to bring you a special guest post from none other than Sean himself: the myth, the man, the legend. As the one who has so patiently read all of my blog posts over the past year, he deserves his shot in the spotlight so I'm handing over the keyboard and relinquishing all blog control. (Did I really agree to this? God, my palms are starting to sweat and there's a lump in my throat. Help. I suddenly can't breathe) Aaaaand away we go...

Stuff White People Like . Have you heard of it?


While reading it, a grande Starbucks in hand, having just returned from the farmer’s market with organic produce, I can’t help but admit that it describes me to a T. I want to throw down the book and yell “I’m an individual!” but they’ve got me pegged. And as I turned to Marie and complained about how “noisy those damn kids are outside”, I realized perhaps there are other categories I fit into as well…and a sequel was born: Stuff Old People Like.

I am a huge fan of the old people. Your grandparents and I would get along great. As a gentleman of leisure I appreciate how they take it slow. Naps? I love naps.


The only thing I love more than a solid afternoon nap is the ability to wear pants with ducks on them and suspenders. Marie won’t let me wear that stuff yet, something about how I’d embarrass her. But just wait. Wait until I’m 80. I am going to be one bad ass old dude.

My book is still in progress, but I’ve got a good outline. Here are some things I believe old people like (and trust me, I’m an expert. I’m 29 going on 79)

• Ointment
• Individually wrapped hard candy
• Oatmeal (you bloggers like that stuff too right?)
• Not having salt
• Prunes. All forms. Juice, canned, stewed.
• The Price is Right
• Golf Carts
• Florida
• Watching The Price is Right... in Florida... while driving a golf cart. I like to call this The Trifecta. Bonus points if the person's wearing orthopedic shoes while doing it.
• Hairy ears
• Playing Bridge
• Looking out the window any time anything happens
• Writing you a $12 check for your birthday

This book is going to rock. What am I missing?

I cannot wait to be that old crotchety guy, cane in hand, spoiling my grand kids rotten. It’s going to be awesome.

Especially when I make Marie clean my dentures. I mean diaper.

(Editor's note: ughhhhh. boys.)

How to be the Hostess with the Mostess

It may be 2010 and I know feminists are all the rage, but I'm just going to put this out there: I aspire to be a good hostess. Even scarier, I enjoy cooking dinner for people; I think creating a good meal for someone is a way to show you care. (Plus it gets you out of doing dishes- the #1 rule in my household? the cook does not do the dishes). It's been a long journey since college where I hosted Thanksgiving Dinner for my parents and realized I didn't have a single napkin or paper towel in the entire apartment. As we sat down to dinner with toilet paper on our laps, I made sure to double lock the doors so Martha Stewart wouldn't barge in and kick my ass for such a poor display.

This week I put myself to the ultimate culinary challenge, cooking Sean's birthday dinner.

in a foreign country.

in a furnished flat with no decor, ugly placemats, and one sad half used candle.

So please, learn from my mistakes over the years and take away these tips to becoming the Hostess (or Host) with the Mostess (or Most).

First thing you will need is a menu. If you can tie it around a theme, that's even better.


Our dinner was An Around the World Extravaganza where each of the 3 courses centered on a different country. It was the perfect theme for our latest travels. (It also sounded a lot better than Three totally random meals I am making because Sean likes them and I have most of the ingredients already)


You want to be sure to maintain your levels of class and ladylikeness (is that a word?!) at all times. For example, Nutella with carmelized bananas is really just a polite way of saying Orgasm in Chocolate Carbohydrate Form. (Sorry Mom, but it's true)

Once your menu is planned, it is time to get the essentials:


No no no. Wait. While alcohol is certainly essential, that's not quite what I meant.


Much better.

Now that you've got your ingredients. It's time to get cooking. However, there are a few key elements that every good cook, homemaker, and party hostess must rely on.

1. If your recipe calls for a red wine reduction, always test the red wine before adding it in. This is very important. You don't want your guests getting sick from bad wine. Go to whatever lengths necessary to protect them from bad wine, even if it means drinking the entire bottle yourself.




2. When you are baking a cake in a non-stick pan, be sure you are actually using the non-stick side. Otherwise your cake will fall apart and you will need to do some massive frosting recon to get it back to normal. (and this is unfortunate because the more frosting you put on the cake means the less frosting you get to scoop out and eat with your finger. it's a travesty really)




3. When hiding chocolate baked goods, the cupboard where the gas source is supplied is always a good choice. Also, boys love purple candles. Don't let 'em tell you any different.




4. Always follow directions to the letter. It is like Mario Batali KNEW I had stolen his gnocchi ala ciorciara recipe from my crazy ex roommate, because when it came time to boil the gnocchi he instructed:


float aggressively? got it. But how does one tell when gnocchi is being aggressive? Does it steal your coffee table and threaten to call the cops on you?



5. Cater to your audience. For instance, Sean is a tequila man. I could've presented him with a bottle of tequila when he walked in the door and he would've been just as happy. Instead of an elaborate 3 course meal it'd be easy: salt, tequila, lime. done and done. (on second thought, why didn't I do that!?) To fit in with the season and my slight obsession with pumpkin-flavored products, I decided to make Rachel's Pumpkin Margaritas to go with our first course.


Holy hell. These things were to.die.for. Please, drop everything and go make these right away (well wait, finish reading my blog entry first). While they were a little labor intensive, the end product was totally worth it. I started out with this:


but soon ended with this:


and that, ladies and gents, is what a satisfied customer looks like

6. Always, always, always save room for dessert.




and when all the dishes are done and the food's packed away, it's time to settle into your food coma.




The high heels come off, the sweatpants come on and you can finally revel in all the hard work you've done. Pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself on another successful dinner without any food poisoning, fire departments, or lost appendages.


Bon Appétit!