Update on my Book List

Ok, so I needed a refresher on my list and also a kick in the pants to start reading again. For some reason I tend to find other things to do with my time instead of relaxing with a book. Let's see how I'm doing so far:

1. The Hollow (Nora Roberts) - Done!
2. Twilight (Stephenie Meyer) - Done! And now I'm hooked!
3. The Pagan Stone (Nora Roberts) - started...
4. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) - started...
5. The Last Lecture (Randy Pausch) - started...
6. Carolina Moon (Nora Roberts)
7. New Moon (Stephenie Meyer) - Done! Finished while driving!
8. Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer) - started...
9. Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)
10. The Horse Whisperer (Nicholas Evans)
11. At0nement (Ian McEwan)
12. The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
13. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
14. She's Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
15. The Princess Bride (William Goldman)
16. Can You Keep a Secret? (Sophie Kinsella)
17. Bridget Jone's Diary (Helen Fielding)
18. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkein)
19. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
20. The Nanny Diaries (Emma McLaughlin and Nicole Kraus)
21. The Rule of Four (Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason)
22. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

Seven books started, but only three finished? Hmmm... looks like I need to step up my reading game! And with this list circulating on FB about the BBC's top 100 books - I have alot of reading ahead of me.....

My game plan for March is to finish the 4 books I have started. That might seem to be alot of reading... but I'm sure it will be worth it! I love using my imagination!

Sidman's Next Top Model

So when I was home in February, Hannah's big thing was taking pictures. Anytime she saw a camera, she would point to it or touch it and say "Cheese". She would then insist that you took her picture and show her what it looked like. When she looked at herself, she would say, "Hannah cute!" And everyone in the room would have to look at the picture and agree. She *is* adorable... and she knows it!


So each of these pictures were taken, viewed and passed around the room for everyone to comment on. Her eyes are amazing....


In order to take this picture, she insisted on "posing" in front of the television.


Cheesin' it up with Aunt Jessie - you can totally tell she was in the middle of saying "Cheese!"


And of course, she wanted her picture taken while we were trying to eat. I should have put the camera away, but she was just being so darn cute! Her mom wanted her to eat more and I wanted to take more pictures...

After dinner, she played "dress-up" with Mimi's flip-flops. (No, she didn't have an accident, that's juice from her peaches all over her pants.)

I tried to upload a cute video of her in the flip-flops but it didn't work. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong - I might need to enlist the help of blog-guru Allison ;o)


And last, but not least... every top model has photos she is not proud of. This is most likely one of those photos for Hannah. She is eating fried fish... and looks to be either stuffed or drunk (which she was not!). It was just the timing of the flash, I promise you.

SURPRISE! My little sister turns 30!

My little sister only turns 30 once, so I made sure I was able to sneak home and surprise her. With the help of her husband, Kevin, her in-laws, our family and some close friends of hers, we were able to surprise her with a party!


This is the masterpiece of cake that I created for her big day. It was sugar-shock on a platter! The cupcakes on the bottom tier were Wacky Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing. The cupcakes on the middle tier were White Velvet Cupcakes with Fluffy White Icing and the top tier consisted of a sno-ball courtesy of Giant Eagle bakery. The cupcakes, platter and tiers were decorated with various candies including M&M's, Resse's Pieces, Gummy Sweet Tarts, Lemonheads, Gummy Bears, Kissables and Mini Marshmallows.


Hannah waited patiently along with the rest of us so that we could surprise Aunt Jessie :o) The party was supposed to be snow-themed complete with sled riding and snow angel making (and the sno-ball atop the cupcake tiers and the hot chocolate on the menu) but there was no snow to be found! It actually snowed the day after the party!


Jess was completely surprised. I don't know if it was more because we pulled it off or because I was there. She had no idea I had been in town for over 24 hours before the party!


The candles on the cake were trick candles (of course!) that took awhile to be extinguished. I think everyone at the party had their try with helping Jess get them all blown out! That's Kevin (Jess' husband) in the background. He looks so excited and tickled pink that we surprised her! (Or maybe it was all the beer he had been drinking.)


Everyone loved the different cupcakes and candies! Hannah was so excited about her cupcake that she actually bit the tine off of one of the plastic forks. To this day, I still have no idea if she swallowed it or it got lost somewhere else. We couldn't find it.



Pap-pap decided to wear Hannah's hat as a party hat. He's always good entertainment to have at a party!

Jess' mother-in-law made this cute card with all different kinds of candy. It was very creative!

Hope you had a great birthday, Jess! I know I had fun planning it, preparing for it and experiencing it with you!

Hannah at Grandma and Pap-pap's

On a surprise trip home in February, Hannah and I spent some time with my grandparents. They dote on her so much and it's so cute to watch her interact with them.


She still has the biggest, most gorgeous blue eyes. And lucky for me, she loves posing for pictures!


She loves to hug the dogs, too - and they are quite gentle with her.


One of her favorite things to play with and Grandma and Pap-pap's are these stacking dolls that fit inside each other. I swear she played with them for over a half hour!



She also loves to do puzzles. She puts them together like a champ... a little genius! I might be biased, but I think she's pretty darn smart for her age!


She also likes to pretend to take naps with Pap-pap. This after jumping on the bed, of course!

They let her have full run of the house when she is there. She even plays games on the computer with Pap-pap. They have all sorts of crackers and snacks that they get out for her to have, but she ends up just feeding them to the dogs - or taking a nibble and putting them back into the container!

Pei Wei

For dinner one night, I decided to tempt my tastebuds with some Pad Thai from Pei Wei. This dish was awesome - and really spicy, just how I like it. My eyes were literally watering! The other flavors in the dish came out, as well, so it wasn't all spice.

And for dessert? A fortune cookie, of course:

You're probably wondering how I got the fortune out of the cookie without the cookie looking like it had been opened, aren't you? Well, truth be told, the fortune is not from the actual cookie in the picture ;o)

Happy Valentine's Day

Dear Amanda,

I think you're awesome!

Love, Me

These were the gorgeous flowers I sent myself on Valentine's Day. It truly was money well spent - even though the flowers didn't last long, they brought a smile to my face because they were so beautiful!
And because I reminded myself just how awesome I really am ;o)

Tequila Lime Shrimp

I had some left over shrimp from Supper Club so I thought I'd do a search on Allrecipes.com to come up with something fast and easy to make with ingredients I already had on hand. This is the result of that search.

The shrimp had so much flavor and it was really tasty. The write-up in the recipe said that it is good over pasta. I ate it just as it was... since I didn't have any pasta on-hand.

Tequila Lime Shrimp

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until light brown. Place shrimp in the pan, and cook for 3 minutes.

2. Pour in tequila and lime juice, and season with cilantro, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 more minutes.

ENJOY! :o)

SOUPer Bowl at Emily's

Our February Supper Club theme was SOUP and it was hosted by Emily - what a great night! All of our soups were souper delicious! (Pun intended!)

Emily made a kick-ass salad and bought this awesome bread, as well. I kind of envy her salad bowl....

Angie made this awesome Coconut Curry Chicken Noodle Soup. The recipe can be found here: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1860092

Emily also made Italian Wedding soup. Mmmm. It was really good. Overall, it might have been my #2 pick of the evening. But don't tell my Mom. I love my Mom's Italian wedding soup, but there was just something about this one that made it better. Perhaps it was the pasta.

Jennifer made this Minestrone soup with ribbed elbow pasta. I had never seen ribbed pasta before. Well, not ribbed elbows. They were interesting. And I liked the white beans in this soup. Very tasty!

My soup was a Sour and Spicy Thai Shrimp soup. It was my favorite soup of the evening and it's not just because I made it! It was SOUPER spicy, but that's how I like it! I would definitely make this again. The recipe can be found here:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=226544

I bet you were wondering what we would have for dessert... Well, Emily made this very rich Mixed Berry Soup. She served it over ice cream. Wow. It was really delicious.

Here's a view from the top... she garnished each serving with some fresh berries. It looked quite fancy!

Corner Bakery Cafe

One day after work, I thought I would give this new place a try for a quick, tasty dinner. It's a cute little place called Corner Bakery Cafe. They've got sandwiches, salads and tasty bakery items.I chose to have the Chicken Pomodori on Sourdough (seen above) The description on the menu reads as such:

A guaranteed winner. Sliced chicken breast, fresh basil and spinach, oven-roasted tomatoes, and provolone cheese with pesto mayo.

It really did live up to it's description, "a guaranteed winner."

But what made the entire trip worthwhile was the dessert I had. This lemon bar was just the right mix of sweet and tart. My mouth just waters thinking about it. So lemony... so delicious!

Sauteed Chicken with Herbed Soba

I'm always up for trying something new. So when I got my most recent issue of Everyday Food (thanks to Laksany!), I knew this was one of the recipes I wanted to try. It calls for soba noodles, which I have never used before.

For those that aren't familiar with them, soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour and wheat flour. They are about as thick as spaghetti and are used in various hot and cold dishes. Did you know it is considered polite to slurp your noodles noisily in Japan?

Sauteed Chicken with Herbed Soba

4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
1 cup fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces chicken cutlets
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 package (8.8 ounces) soba noodles

1. In a food processor, finely chop scallions, cilantro, parsley, garlic and ginger with vinegar and 1 tablespoon oil. Transfer to a bowl.

2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Season chicken with cayenne, salt and pepper. Working in batches, cook, turning once, until opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board; let cool 5 minutes and thinly slice.

3. Cook soba noodles according to package instructions. Drain; toss with herb mixture. Serve chicken with soba noodles; garnish with cilantro.

Yield 4 servings.

douzo omeshiagari kudasai
(Enjoy your food/meal)

Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Vinegar and Garlic

Have you ever used Allrecipe's Ingredient search? I was at a loss as to what I should do with some chicken breasts I had defrosted one night, so I took a look at my cupboards. I saw that I had an ample supply of garlic and balsamic vinegar. There were also some mushrooms in the refrigerator. At Allrecipes.com all you need to do it enter the ingredients you have on-hand and it tells you what recipes you might be able to use. This is what came of that search one night...


Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Vinegar and Garlic

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon butter

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Rinse the mushrooms and pat dry. Season the flour with salt and pepper and dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and saute the chicken until it is nicely browned on one side (about 3 minutes).

2. Add the garlic. Turn the chicken breasts and scatter mushrooms over them. Continue frying, shaking the skillet and stirring the mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add the vinegar, broth, bay leaf and thyme. Cover tightly and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

3. Transfer the chicken to a warm serving platter and cover with foil. Set aside. Continue simmering the sauce, uncovered, over medium high heat for about 7 minutes. Swirl in the butter or margarine and discard the bay leaf. Pour this mushroom sauce mixture over the chicken and serve.

Yields 4 servings.

Primanti Brothers Sandwich

Do you see that sandwich full of yummy goodness? I promise to you that I took that picture of a sandwich I made myself - I didn't rip it from the Primanti Brothers website. Honest. And to prove it, I will share the recipe I found so that you can make these very sandwiches in your own kitchen.

For the Slaw

1 pound (about half of a medium-size head) green cabbage, shredded or finely chopped (about 6 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the cabbage, sugar, salt and celery seed in a colander set over a medium bowl. Let stand at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours; the cabbage will be wilted (about 4 cups total).

Discard the draining liquid in the bowl; rinse and dry the bowl, then transfer the wilted cabbage to the bowl. Add the oil and vinegar; toss to coat. Season with pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.


For the twice-fried potatoes

6 to 8 large (4 to 5 pounds) russet potatoes, washed well
8 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a few large baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Fill a large bowl with cold water.

Cut the (unpeeled) potatoes lenghtwise into 1/4-inch-thick sticks. Submerge in the cold water. Rinse in subsequent changes of cold water to remove all visible starch, then drain in a colander and spread the potatoes on the paper towels, patting the potatoes dry.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat, until the oil temperature reaches 320 degrees.

Fry the potatoes in 4 batches; each batch will take 2 to 4 minutes. Stir occasionally as they cook, until the fries are soft and cooked through but still pale. Allow enough time for the oil to return to 320 degrees between batches; use an instant-read thermometer to monitor the oil. Use a slotted spatula to transfer the potatoes to the lined baking sheets.

Increase the heat to high (or as needed) so that the temperature of the oil reaches 375 degrees. Cook the fries a second time, working in 4 batches; each batch will take 2 to 3 minutes, until the fries are crisp and golden brown. Transfer to the lined baking sheets. Immediately season lightly with salt, then place in the oven to keep the fries warm.

For the meat and cheese

2 pounds ground beef
1 packet Lipton's dry onion soup mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 slices provolone cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the beef, onion soup mix, eggs, ketchup and milk together and place in a loaf pan. Bake for one hour or until done. Let the meatloaf come to room temperature then place in the refrigerator overnight.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Have a large baking sheet ready.

Slice the meatloaf and add the slices to the skillet, turning them as needed until the slices are warmed through and the outside gets crispy. Transfer the slices to the baking sheet and immediately top each with a slice of provolone cheese. Place in the oven (alon with the fries) just until the cheese has melted.

Alternatively, 2 pounds of capicola ham (or any meat, for that matter) can be used instead of the meatloaf.

For assembly

4 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into 16 thin slices
16 large slices of soft italian bread (18 ounces total)

Place the portions of cheese-topped meatloaf on 8 bread slices. Top with a large handful of the warm fries, then pile about 1/2 cup of the slaw on each portion. Garnish with 2 tomato slices for each portion; use the remaining 8 pieces of bread to finish each sandwich. Serve warm.


And most importantly, don't forget the Heinz for the fries that fall from the sandwich or the Frank's Red Hot to give your sandwich that extra little kick!

Oh, and don't be afraid to click on the picture so that you can see the details of the sandwich in full-color detail! Your mouth will water.


(Original recipe courtesy of http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2009/01/28/primanti-bros-sandwiches/)

Steelers Cupcakes!

Ok, so this entry comes hot on the heels of me claiming that it is not in my Baking morals to use a box cake mix. I know, I know. I'm being such a hypocrite. But allow me to take you on this several hour journey that started with a box mix and prepared icing...I promise that the amount of time it took me to decorate 30 cupcakes made up for me starting with a box cake mix!


I started by putting a nice healthy amount of white icing on the middle of the cupcakes. I then "drew" a circle around the white icing with black decorator icing.

Then I free-handed the Steelers diamonds onto the top of each and every cupcake.


3o cupcakes in all. I took 3 of them and put larger diamonds on them to arrange in the middle of my presentation. And then it was time for the taste testers....

Nicholas loved his cupcake. He had chocolate crumbs all over the place and also wanted to give me a big chocolatey kiss as thanks.


Brian was the cleanest cupcake eater... but I got a big hug from him when he told me "Thanks!"

Rachel ate her cupcake just like I would have... eyes and mouth wide, trying to get as much in at one time as possible. Of course I got a big thank you hug from her as well.