Archive | October, 2011

appreciating: style

28 Oct

doesn’t that sound a bit on the narcissistic side, that i’d want to lift up and appreciate my style on my own blog?

oh well it may not be what you think.

having a style is more than what you wear, it’s how you define yourself. notice how i said “define yourself” not how others would define you. it’s how you express who you are on the inside and that is what makes it so interesting. other people are involved in your style and the best way is when they recognize something that would be “so you”. it means you’ve defined yourself – your style so well, that people attribute something to be “so you”. it always makes me smile when someone says ” i saw this thing today that was so you… i know you would love it”. it can be clothes, jewelry, home decor – anything. i think i’ve already told you that a friend i worked with in chicago told me after i left that she went out to lunch and thought of me the whole time (ha ha – not because she wolfed down a burger) because she bought some tuberoses for her office and listened to jill scott in her headphones. i love that!

celebrities usually have a strong sense of style because well, they have someone help them. they are called a stylist. you should hang out with a stylist. they are the REAL ones with style – so much so that they can mold and shape you into someone who has a “look”.

but speaking of celebrities, diane keaton is my style hero. nevermind that she was a woody allen muse for so long but that girl has some style and always has.

she first came on the scene strong in annie hall. this look is so diane and always will be.

this is my favorite picture below and one of my favorite scenes from annie hall. she is so awkward and funny with woody and it just makes you smile.

no woman, except katerine hepburn wore mens clothes

look how young and cool she is!

her style from her movies expressed itself in her own style. she always rocked the hat, and still does

and along with hats – it’s glasses (being a glasses girl myself, i love this! lasik doesn’t have as much style, does it?

i started out talking about my style, and honestly (between you and me) i’m a bit depressed about my style. right now my style lives on a pinterest board i created called “when i am skinny”. i’m at an all time high and so down and out that who i am on the inside is not matching who i am on the outside. don’t get all sorry for me… things don’t stay that way forever and there is a thought of a plan… but that is frustrating, isn’t it? right now, stress has won the last few rounds in the fight to take over my ‘style’ but i have not been knocked down! style always prevails…

i’m off traveling again, so stay tuned (exciting…!) to see where i’ll pop up tomorrow. have a great day!

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lasagne recipe timed just right!

27 Oct

this blog is by kirsten hoover

cousin of the appreciator (daughter of aunt sal)

entertaining is an art that my mom masters. she famously has 70+ people over for chili the night before thanksgiving and even more than that on christmas day for brunch. everyone always asks how she does it and honestly i don’t know. i truly think she does have superpowers but she has also taught me the art to a good dinner party…timing.  she says she learned this from her mother who also a great entertainer.  according to mom the key to a great party is getting everything timed right. now i’ve been to a party where the host is whipping up the dish at the last minute, casually drinking a glass of wine and able to carry on a conversation with the guests all at the same time. i am just NOT this kind of cook. when my mom has these massive parties she is also able to sit and talk to her guests ….because she has done everything ahead of time.  some people think that in order to have a dinner party  you need to be a great cook and this is not so. people just want to spend time with you and have fun.

so take this recipe, make it ahead of time (even the day before) with a caesar salad (lettuce, croutons, dressing, done) and sit and enjoy the people you love.

lasagna

ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
  • 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 pound lasagna noodles
  • 15 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
  • 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

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similar but different: bookcases

25 Oct

i’m all for technology but sadly, the bookshelves could be a thing of the past. 

i love being surrounded by books.  even if i don’t read them much anymore.  just being honest.  i’ve read some really really good ones and i like having them close by.  i love the feeling you get when you start reading a good book and you read that line and just know right then and there – this – is going to be a good book.  and then you just dig right in and can’t stop.

how about the books that you can’t put down?  you’re reading laying down and your head is on the pillow and one eye is closed and the other one is tearing up because you can’t possibly really be still awake?   yeah, that’s a good book.

and here are some greatly designed bookcases.  let’s hope they stay around for a while!  this one is from lonnymag:

this one from houzz.com

another unique look from houzz.com

this one from freshome is invisible.  i love it.

a staircase shelf – sweetness

hope you have a great tuesday.  or if you’re up and reading this now… join the club.  been up since 4:30am.  what is my deal?

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appreciating: design sponge or d*s

23 Oct

i don’t know if you’re familiar with the nifty blog design sponge, but you have to check it out. 

so many times i have to explain in my business what a blog is (which is understandable, and if you don’t know, you are reading one right now) or exactly how popular blogging is.  now most blogs start out for non-commercial reasons.  but the reason is key.  it’s about passion.  you simply can not blog about something you’re not passionate about.  come on now, what would the purpose be?  just like any written word or story – if the writer knows what they are doing, then the inspiration or thought or simply appreciation comes across to the reader.

so now that it is properly introduced is grace bonney.  the girl behind the book and the blog that went over quite well.  her passion must have been portrayed wonderfully!  to get an idea of her, check out her video:

so that is grace.  here are some super fantastic things from her blog that can be found here.

she does “sneak peeks” at people’s houses all over the country.  you can search even by state or country.  so cool.  found a neighbor practically featured in here!

design sponge also is about entertaining and you can sort by holiday or food group.  many are guest recipes.

she has great “before & after” ideas like:

and even some inspiring biz ladies articles that can be found here:

this one in particular resonated with me:

MYTH 3: I do not need to make more money because I love what I do.

We’ve all said it. “I love this so much, I wouldn’t even need to get paid!” What comes easy to us — what is beautiful and fun — is downright ugly to someone else. What comes easy to you often represents the most valuable skill you bring to the world.

Your time, energy and circumstances (hello, work-from-home moms!) do not reduce the value of what you do or produce. Value is value. It’s your job to better understand the value of your work to your customers and clients and then constantly improve on how that value is perceived so that you can truly make (lots of) money beautifully.

What is the return on time or energy that your customers experience because of purchasing your product or services? What tangible results do your customers experience, and what financial worth does that have for them over time?

hope you appreciate design sponge as much as i do!

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week in review

22 Oct

what a fantastic week i’ve had

and how great that i have this blog to remember it.  today we launched the first of 27 chevy sonic adventures across the country.  this is a partnership between agency 720, SCVNGR and chevy.  this week – who am i kidding – this whole month has been completely surrounded with prep for what is coming over the next 7 weeks.

Michael Hagen and Sonya - the SCVNGR team

ROF, someone i appreciate a ton, made a full on fancy dinner thursday night before i left for the weekend.  steak, baked potato, brussel sprouts & some awesome jeni’s ice cream that our friends suzanne & bryan gave us a while ago.  we had a medley of buttercup pumpkin and amaretto cookies, black coffee and salty caramel ice cream.

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this weeks travels take me to the great twin cities

21 Oct

i love minnesota.

i’m not kidding when i tell you that everyone there is nice.  really – everyone.  i used to handle the minneapolis-st.paul buick dealers and lacrosse dealers too and they were so kind.  i used to fly there every single month for about 4 years.  this weekend i get to spend friday and saturday in minneapolis and saturday sunday in duluth, mn.   here’s minneapolis:

i wish ROF was coming with me.  forty degrees in duluth!  it’s God’s country though

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hawaiian pumpkin pie recipe, beer & lori roe

20 Oct

when my awesome cousin, the appreciator, asked me for a recipe/drink post for her blog, i said “sure! sounds like fun.”

cousin lori with her daughter linds & aunt annette

It then took me about two seconds to realize there was one small problem – i don’t cook.   i weighed my options:

my “plan a” was to write about the one “recipe” i do have.  marinate salmon in a combination of yoshida’s gourmet sauce and brown sugar.  then bake it.  ok, so plan a is a little short and incomplete, so i thought of a plan b.

appropriately, my “plan b” was beer. 

i’ve tried lots of different beers over the years.  as i started to put together my list of favorite/interesting beers – rogue dead guy ale, lost coast great white, walkabout workers pale ale . . . i realized that most of these beers are impossible to find if you don’t live in northern california or southern oregon. so, about all i have to offer on the subject of beers is this – explore the local microbrews wherever your travels take you.  they won’t all be winners but it’s sure a lot of fun exploring the local varieties.

so, on to “plan c” . . . call my mom.

when i picked up the phone to call my mom, i suddenly felt nine years old again.   of course my mom can have three dozen cookies ready by tomorrow for the school bake sale.  as i talked with my mom about what to write, we took a journey through years of stories related to the kitchen.  a couple of the stories may explain why i don’t cook . . . there was the crème de menthe display i destroyed with a grocery cart after weeks of begging my mom to let me “drive” the cart (my driving privileges were revoked for months after that little incident).  there was also the brand new mixer i destroyed by getting the spatula caught in the beaters.  as my mom shared her stories of the kitchen, i realized how many great memories were created in our family kitchen. it almost makes me want to start cooking . . .

so no surprise, the recipe we selected comes with a story. 

hawaiian pumpkin pie was always a holiday family favorite.  my brother, jim, especially loves this dessert, so when he was invited to aunt joan and uncle jim’s house (yep, also home of the appreciator) for thanksgiving dinner years and years ago, he offered to bring hawaiian pumpkin pie.  the recipe truly is a great recipe – if you remember to add all the ingredients. that thanksgiving, jim forgot one ingredient – the sugar.  aunt joan said, as the appreciator’s family sat eating dessert, they were exchanging glances as if to say “does your piece taste as bad as mine?”  afraid of hurting jim’s feelings, they never said a word and waited until jim had left to compare notes on what went wrong with the pie.  so here it is . . . just don’t forget the sugar.

hawaiian pumpkin pie

1 baked 9″ crumb crust
1 pt. vanilla ice cream
1 c. canned pumpkin
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. heavy cream, whipped
1/2 chopped pecans

spread slightly softened ice cream on bottom of cool pie shell. put in the freezer.
combine pumpkin, sugar, spices and salt. fold in whipped cream. spread over ice cream in pie shell. sprinkle with pecans.  put in the freezer.  remove from freezer a few minutes before serving. can be frozen up to one month.

crumb crust:
combine 1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 c. sugar and 1/4 melted butter or margarine. Press into a 9″ pie pan. bake at 375ºF for 8 minutes. cool.

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check out these houzzes.

19 Oct

i was slightly obsessed

with the brady bunch show growing up.

i thought that was how life was supposed to be.  smiley, happy, singing and a very clean house.  we all know it was alice that kept the house so clean.

i think that is where my obsession with houses begun. 

notice i said obsession with houses…not cleanliness…  but wasn’t their house awesome?  i could flip through house books forever which is why i’m so glad i found houzz.com. this website is very similar to pinterest.com but all about houses – inside and out.  it is fun to see what decorators put together and just how creative people get.  here’s some stuff…

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5 lovely links (you’ll love!) spooky desserts

18 Oct

halloween is right around the corner. 

that used to be my favorite holiday.  i loved getting dressed up and i especially remember the feeling when i was younger of pretending not to be afraid and then being really scared.  i loved the whole pumpkin carving thing, the trick or treating in the cold michigan weather with my dad holding our hands and making stupid ghost noises.

here are some fun desserts to make with your kiddos or loved ones…

all my goodies are on my pinterest page here:

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all anthropologie all the time

17 Oct

let’s say i rubbed a bottle and a genie came out

and told me that i could have a million dollars but it had to be a gift certificate to one store, what store would it be? 

of course, i would consult with ROF and we’d probably be practical and say something like nordstroms (ha ha we know ROF wouldn’t vote for that) but like, home depot or something like that.  but then…

the genie would say “no, appreciator, you need to pick one store just for you“. 

well, i’d argue and argue but then “anthropologie” would probably be forced out after a lot of thought.  who doesn’t lurve that store?  i love it so much i lurve it!  the in-store styling makes you want to pick up everything and ship it home.  shopping on-line – mey – not so much.  here are some of my favorite things.

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be who you say

16 Oct

these are some e-cards you can send people and i find them really funny.

 

week in review

15 Oct

afternoon, friends. 

quick review on the week as i am so glad the weekend is here. 

what an awesome weekend it is! 

this week we launched 24 more bloggers in chevy traverses’ in houston, texas.  that’s 59 pretty popular bloggers in some pretty cool cars.  on top of that, i have a partnership with SCVNGR that is a very hot mobile company out of boston.  we’re launching the chevy sonic adventure in 27 markets across the country.  it’s like a local “amazing race” type of deal where someone wins a brand new chevy sonic after 2 hours of racing around the city answering questions on their mobile phone. we’ll be in dallas, ft. worth and houston in texas in november.  we’ll also be in cities all over the country. it has been one of those wheels off kind of weeks.  didn’t know which way i was coming or going.  my sister also trained dealers in norfolk, va on social media which turned out to be a success.  you know what?  i love what i do.  i love being given the freedom to change what “experiential” means to brands and consumers.

didn’t like not being able to blog though.

being creative for business and being creative for fun are two different things.  so i’m going to change things up a little bit on my blog.  expect some fun to start happening right here. oh yea.

if you want to check out some of the stuff that we do, check out the buzz that happened in dallas/ft worth after we put ladies in their new cars… here is what some wrote on their blogs…
http://growingupinoz.com/2011/10/11/chevy-girls-on-the-go/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chevy-girls-on-the-go

http://www.thebutterflymom.com/2011/10/11/first-impression-of-the-chevy-traverse/

http://screweduptexan.com/2011/10/what-me-chevy-traverse-and-dr-pepper-all-have-in-common.html

http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2011/10/crystal-co-is-driving-a-chevy-traverse-for-2-weeks/

http://othersuch.net/2011/10/07/wherein-i-became-a-chevygirl/

http://heyitsjade.blogspot.com/2011/10/homeschool-recap-oct-7th-week-5.html

suzanne and angie @6am moving cars in houston.

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holiday noodles & rasberry whip recipe and my cousin britt

13 Oct

today’s special guest recipe is from my wonderfully fun cousin, britt snyder in San Marcos, California

hi appreciator!

below are 2 recipes from torin’s nana.  they used to eat the “noodles” (they call them “noodles” but it is kind of like chicken noodle soup) on christmas day.  since we already have a christmas tradition we make these on Christmas Eve:

nana’s christmas chicken noodles

2 6-7 pound old stewing chickens, washed, discard heart and gizzard
12 eggs, beaten
3 teaspoons salt ( or more to taste)
8 cups flour
1 large can chicken broth (we use more to make it a little more soupy)
4 carrots unpeeled
2 large onions
1 head of celery
2 bay leafs

put hens in a big pot with a big can of chicken broth and 1 big can of water so chicken is covered.

add carrots, onions, celery, and bay leaves.  i cut onions in half and clean carrots and celery.

cook chicken for approximately 2 hours until you can pull a leg off.

cool, then strain after you remove chicken.  discard vegetables and reserve broth in a big pot.

take meat off the chickens and set aside to be added at the end.

mix eggs, salt, and flour by hand adding flour slowly – make into a big ball.  ( you need a very large mixing bowl for this)

take a hand full of dough and roll our as thin as possible.

lay rolled dough on a sheet to dry until you can roll them up to slice.  (several hours- but watch that they don’t get too dry)

bring broth to a boil, add noodles slowly and stir.

cover and cook for 20 minutes ( no peaking or you’ll ruin it) over medium heat – do not burn.

add chicken before serving.

i have found a turkey fryer to work the best for cooking the noodles.  you have to do it outside.  over the years we found the average kitchen cook tops to be really inadequate for cooking such large quantities.  if you need to cook on a cook top you may want to divide into two smaller pots.  still no peeking as nana would have said.  i also made the noodles ahead of time one year ( by a day or so) and it seemed to cut the work and mess in half without any sacrifice in taste.

baby tailyn's first christmans rolling noodles!

nana snyder’s raspberry whip

1 bag frozen raspberries in heavy syrup, drained overnight
2 large packages raspberry Jell-O
1 cup whipping cream, whipped.

make Jell-O as directed only replace as much water with raspberry juice as possible while still following Jell-O directions.

place in refrigerator and let sit till it coats a spoon (approximately 1-2 hours)

fold raspberries in.

fold in whipped cream.

refrigerate.

it is hard to find raspberries in heavy syrup, i use frozen raspberries and reserve any juice while thawing in a strainer.  i add 2 teaspoons of vanilla to the whipping cream for added flavor.

serve on iceberg lettuce with whipped cream and a green and red cherry on top


xoxo

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funky, hip hotels

11 Oct

nothing is better than a cool hotel room

well, there are better things, but don’t you just love staying at hip hotels? it is the ultimate pampering and splurge and luxury. here are some hotels i love and admire.

we’re going to start our journey with a place in dallas. the place we stayed at for two nights during our wedding weekend – the loft suite at the joule hotel downtown. now, that was fun without a doubt. i wish my mom and sister had a chance to see it. pictures do not do it justice. ROF and i decided that we could have definitely lived there forever.

if i had to pick a place to define who i am or better yet who i’d want to be...i’d pick new york city. there is this energy that is like none other the minute i land. it’s funky, chilly, full of life and adventure, history and confidence. the music dropped in the background would be some downbeat house music. i get to go there twice this fall and i’m jazzed. already doing the research on what to do and where to go. when i go over christmas, i just can’t wait to hang with the prendevilles. so here’s one of my faves. i have never stayed here but definitely eaten here

the mercer hotel

not new, but still the place to be.

robert de nero’s place in tribeca looks uber awesome:

nyc is for me but i didn’t complain when i was put up at the sunset marquis in los angeles.

one of my favorite hotels in the world is hotel villa caletas in costa rica. we only had drinks at sunset at this amazing place, but always dreamed to go back there and would love to go with ROF. to give you a visual, we climbed a hill SO STEEP getting to this place. i really think i audibly heard the big giant cheesy bus holding all of us ford dealers say “i think i can, i think i can” trying to get up that hill. but this hotel high atop a mountain overlooked the rain forest and to the sea. once we got off the bus, no words were spoke as we were handed a cocktail and asked to gather around the amplitheatre where gregorian chants and enya were playing.

hope you had fun today. talk to you tomorrow!

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5 lovely links (you’ll love): appreciating

11 Oct

you know what’s hard? 

it’s hard to write a blog called the appreciator (that is me) when i’m so darn tired, worn out and just pain, well...grumpy.  it’s even harder admitting it to you.  many of you are going through a much harder time than me.  the appreciator can’t complain, can she?  harumph. 

it’s interesting that over the past few days, it has been hard to appreciate anything because i’ve been too busy being busy and stressed out.   you know when you get to that point that you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel or the break in the trees?

there is one thing you really need to do to re-center (next to praying) and that is start to appreciate.

todays links are to 5 things i appreciate.  and you’re actually going to have to click to see…

1. i appreciate these people who having a bad day for them probably means it is a lot worse than my bad day.

2. i appreciate this and the wonderful person that surprises me with it for dinner sometimes..

3. after the summer we had, i can’t tell you how long i’ve waited for this.  oh, yes, like 10 stinkin’ months!

4. i appreciate the fact that you, loyal reader, won’t mind when i beg off at this very very late hour to go to sleep.  Check out the cool links to the right…

talk tomorrow.  XXOO

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week in review

8 Oct

so appreciate this week. 

got to see a lot of people i haven’t seen in a long time! 

First, the geiger’s from wisconsin had a layover in dallas for a couple of hours, so we took them to blue goose and javiers for dinner.  so glad to see them – it has been since the wedding!

then i went to orange county for a meeting and could stay overnight and visit with my cousins britt & kirsten at kirstens house.  so much fun!

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i love my apples.

7 Oct

by now you know that steve jobs has passed away.   as a die-hard Apple fan, i must pay tribute to a very inspirational, brilliant man.  it is one thing to think he is that way – but i spend 90% of my time on his products!  his products reflect his brilliance.   on my work computer, my home computer, my mobile phone which has replaced my home phone.  on his products i discover the world in a creative, engaging way.  with apps and browsers, blogs and games.  i give work presentations that have gotten me promoted on Apple products.  a brilliant product is the product of a brilliant man.  just listen to what he says:

  • “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?” — Steve Jobs’ pitch to John Sculley, the Pepsi-Cola CEO Jobs brought on to run Apple (Sculley later pushed Jobs out of Apple)
  • “There’s an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ And we’ve always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will.”
  • “My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are not done by one person, they are done by a team of people.”

“None. It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.”

–– Jobs responding to whether he did market research for the iPad

“I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year…. It’s very character-building.”

  • “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” –– Jobs commencement speech at Stanford in 2005

(these were taken from exception magazine, found here)

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swiss fondue recipe, wintry landscapes and the importance of drinking water

6 Oct

i’m alex harland

and i have my husband mark to thank for introducing me to the fabulous appreciator!

before i launch into an account of why i chose my recipe, i feel i must come clean: i am about the furthest thing from a gourmet chef there is. back in the day when i had only myself to feed, dinner would usually consist of cereal,  soups from cartons or packages of pasta i could drop in boiling water for 5 minutes. to this day, cooking for me is about ease and simplicity. if a recipe calls for more ingredients than i have fingers, i won’t go anywhere near it. ditto for tons of slicing and dicing.

ok, so clearly i’m no ina garten-

though how awesome would that be!  but over the last decade my gastronomical confidence  has increased exponentially. it helps that the aforementioned husband has always been an enthusiastic guinea pig with my experiments in the kitchen (he never was very keen on cereal dinners). i really started cooking when i took a leap of faith and left my job, flat and life in london to move in with mark in zurich, switzerland.  and my all time favourite recipe from our sojourn in zurich has to be the one we proudly inherited from our swiss friends for fondue. it brings back so many great memories of beautiful wintry landscapes, days shusshing down the slopes of the alps and lazy evenings of long dinners with good friends by the warm glow of a chalet fire.

a quick lesson in geography:

there are 26 different swiss cantons (basically their equivalent of states). each canton has its own take on the making of perfect fondue. for instance, in the canton of vaud, fondue is prepared with gruyere cheese only but at varying degrees of ripeness. in the canton of jura, on the other hand, fondue is made up with half jura cheese and enhanced with shallots. and in geneva, 3 kinds of cheese are used: gruyere, emmentaler and a vaudois cheese. then, sautéed morels (fresh or dried and pre-soaked) or diced tomatoes are added. for the sake of swiss neutrality, i’ve opted for a non-canton specific basic recipe.

fondue ingredients (for 8 people)

2 ½ lbs shredded cheese (about 5.3 oz per person)- half gruyere cheese and half emmentaler

2 cloves of garlic

2 ½ cups dry white wine

6 tsp cornstarch

6 small glasses cherry kirsch

ground pepper

nutmeg

couple loaves of crusty bread

rub a heavy saucepan or heat proof clay fondue pot with the split garlic cloves. dissolve the cornstarch in the kirsch. put the cheese and wine into the pan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. when the cheese is completely melted, add the cheese and cornstarch mixture, stirring vigorously. continue to cook. season with pepper and nutmeg, to taste. serve over a fondue alcohol lamp and the cooking should continue on low heat. stir constantly with small pieces of bread speared on a fondue fork. try not to boil the cheese!

with that, i have several tips i feel i must share:

1.       if you are lactose intolerant or pregnant, please abstain from this recipe.
2.       fondue is usually eaten with bite-sized pieces of bread speared on a fondue fork. however if bread is not your carb of choice, small boiled potatoes may be used instead.
3.       under no circumstances, i cannot stress this enough, drink water while eating your fondue!!!!!! we have a scottish friend who told a hysterically embarrassing story of the severe case of constipation that resulted from the breaking of this cardinal rule of fondue eating. fondue is best enjoyed with dry white wine or shots of kirsch.
4.       fondue aficionados dunk their bread in kirsch before dipping it into the cheese. not for the faint of heart!
5.       also a little fondue game- whoever loses his bread stirring in the cheese pot must pay for a round of beer or bottle of wine. if it happens to a woman, she must kiss the man sitting next to her.
6.       by far the best part of the fondue is the final crusty bit of almost charred cheese at the very bottom of the pot. make it a fondue fork fight to the finish if you must to claim that last bite of heaven!
7.       lastly, fondue is best served on a cold, wintry evening. we don’t get many of those here in texas so when they do come,  make sure to take advantage. also, best enjoyed in the company of fun, close friends and family.

as the swiss say, en guete!

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bloggers, bloggers & chevy dealers

5 Oct

today was exhaustingly good.

deliciously crazy.

and so much fun.  i love watching an idea the size of a pea grow and grow and be batted around like an injured fly escaping the swatter. but then come out like a shiny rainbow all beautiful and lovely.

i’m so dramatic.

today was a social media breakthrough day.  we had 35 bloggers meet 35 chevy dealers and get a brand new white diamond chevy traverse to drive for 2 weeks.  it was a fun day watching the stereotypes break down as dealers chatted it up with mommy bloggers.  here are some pics. click on any one to make bigger.

 

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5 lovely links (you’ll love!)

4 Oct

so you thought i’d forgotten a post, huh?   not me! 

tomorrow, my team and i are putting 35 bloggers in 35 chevy dealer diamond white chevy traverses’!  and…at the texas state fair, no less.  who knew this idea which was created around a table at a cafe by the galleria (the name which escapes me) over 6 months ago would come to fruition?

only chevy dealers as bold and cool as the north texas chevy dealer (and next week, the houston chevy dealers) would do something like this.  i love that they are reaching out to connect with women in the local market.  this should be fun…

in honor of all the blogger power we will have going on tomorrow, I’m linking you to 5 of my favorite blogs to read.  have fun!

BLOG = web log.  web log of fun, that is.

link #1

for some amazing food recipes click here

link #2

just read their description of blog #2.  click here to go there…

link #3

hands down one of the funniest, oddest websites out there.  tell me you didn’t giggle.  click here

link #4

love this blog.  that’s it.  that’s all i can say. because it’s great (and i’m tired)

and last one…

link #5

forget everything else.  the photography in this blog is to DIE FOR.  i wouldn’t really die for photography but you get the point.  it’s good.  real good.

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early chilly monday morning

3 Oct

Ah… it was 55 degrees driving in to work this morning.

hello, my favorite month of october.

i love music that makes you feel something.   and in real anticipation of feist’s new album/CD being released tomorrow, i drove into the city, window down and turned up her new single called “how come you never go there”  that’s on spotify.  so good and perfect for driving in early morning, people just rousing from their slumber, smoke pillowing from towers and you can smell the chill in the air.

you can get a short glimpse here:  http://www.listentofeist.com/#vignette4

happy monday!

poetic sunday

2 Oct

dealers don’t care who they push to,
just so the victims are mute,
why question the method of delivery, or

means of injection;
the results are felt in the whites of their lie

– peace massacre

where are the ihop scholars
the truck stop wisdom walls, deceased;
trafficked for talking mouths with
sidekick of talking breasts,
afloat on rolling obituaries of red and green arrows

– peace massacre

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week in review

1 Oct

happy cool saturday in big d.

crazy week for us all, eh?  my week started with a day off as ROF and i headed back from a great anniversary mini trip to san antonio. 

i cancelled a trip to LA i had planned because work at hand required me staying put.

got together with bestest megen for delivery to me a very humorous anniversary gift and good talks and laughs at my fave times ten cellars.

couldn’t snap pics of our agency 720 dinner on thursday night at via real with our ceo, harold, who was in town.  it was so great to be with lindsey, jackie, angie (HOLLA!)  and folks as us “social” folks are isolated downtown away from the crew. (boo hoo)

last night, we got to visit with paul, kelly & their adorable lil sophia.  also tod, betsy and their 5 month old lilly who is as sweet as she is beautiful.  we went to mia’s on lemmon.

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