Keeping it Simple

Is it me, or has this been the longest week ever?  Usually I'm pretty excited once Wednesday rolls around.  After lunch on Wednesday, I'm cheerful and happy to be on my way out of the work week.  How different this is from my thoughts just a year and a half ago!  When I first got my job, I was just so happy to have weekends off, the work week flew by.  How quickly you get used to things!

I think this week has felt super long because nothing has been going right!  Reaction after reaction failed this week.  Thankfully I was able to figure out what was going wrong late last night.  Here's hoping I can parlay that bit of good science into more success today and tomorrow.

Today I've made you something super simple and delicious.  Roquefort potatoes!  Fingerling potatoes, Roquefort cheese and Bartlett pears.  Add a a little salt and pepper and you've got an amazing side!  Just be sure to watch your fingers when working with a mandoline.  My thumb is a little worse off after making these potatoes!

Cavatappi Pasta with Sausage and Butternut Squash

Winter has finally struck the New York City area!  I knew this was coming, we can't go a full year without a week or two of frigid temperatures.  I'm just going to say that I would have been perfectly fine if the temperature never dropped below freezing. 

I know my mom is reading this and saying "But you grew up in Buffalo!"  Yes I did.  I also went to grad school in Wisconsin and spent a year living in Colorado.  Yet, I moved to the coast and have since thawed.  No longer do I want to deal with minus twenty wind chills and three feet of snow on my car.  I no longer own a winter coat that resembles a down comforter with sleeves.  I don't want to wear two pairs of pants while I wait for the train to work.  If there were jobs for chemists in Florida, I would be there in a second!

January is almost at it's end and February in the Mid-Altantic region is a smattering of warm and cold days.  I just have to make it through two weeks of wind chill.  There is only one problem with these cold days.  Boyfriend and I are house hunting.

That's right, we are getting ready to put down some roots and stop paying the ridiculous rent on our current apartment.  It's exciting, overwhelming and scary all at once.  Our first major problem, we're not set on a location yet.  It's not as simple as, do we live in this neighborhood or the one next to it?  Our question is - Do we live in New York or New Jersey?

There are a million factors to take into account.  Boyfriend and I work in two different states, he drives, I commute via train.  New Jersey has high property taxes yet New York has those darned city taxes.  Brooklyn is so hip and cool, Jersey city is... well, I have no idea what Jersey city has to offer.  I've only been there a few times!

So, see all the issues we have to deal with!  Add in the fact that it's chilly out and we are spending our Sundays trekking all over the two cities looking at open houses, you've got two very chilly individuals.  Luckily we have a few months before we have to leave our current apartment, the weather can warm up before we have to move. 

I'll just be a little crazy for the next few months, what with the stalking the NYtimes real estate page for new listings.  During that time I plan on making lots of dinners like this.  Ones that make a ton of leftovers! 

Anyone out there recently buy a house and have some tips and tricks for us?  While Boyfriend has previously bought a condo in Buffalo, this will be our first place together and my first purchase (Hello Property Virgin!).  So much to do, will we ever find a place?

Simple Arugula Salad

It's officially summer in my book!  While Memorial day is the "unofficial start of summer," June 20th is the official start of the summer season, I consider July 4th to be the real beginning of summer.  Why?  The weather has turned hot.  Weekends are filled with fun events.  The sun sits high in the sky during the day and sticks around until late at night.  Fourth of July was also always a great day as a kid.  School was out, there were fireworks and summer was on!

Most of the country has been in a heat wave, with several consecutive days with temperatures reaching over the hundred degree mark.  Here in the New York Metro area, we've been lucky enough to avoid triple digit temps, but it's still been a warm few weeks!  Personally, it makes me very happy. 

I love it hot!  Hot weather means I get to spend the weekends in cute, summery dresses.  Ninety-degree temps send boyfriend and I outside and up into the hills of New Jersey.  The high sun, coupled with some SPF50, has me sporting a tan, something that I haven't done since I started grad school nine years ago. 

Of course, the high temps mean that I have to take a few showers each day and that we've been doing a lot of laundry.  It also means that I've been avoiding my oven and making lots of salads.  Feeling the heat too?  Head to the farmers market and stock up!

What day do you consider the beginning of summer?

Iceberg Wedge & Blue Cheese Dressing

Welcome to the new year everyone!  I hope the first two days have treated you well.  If my first two days of the year reflect how everyone else spent their first two days, I hope you all enjoyed shopping at Walmart and Target, buying storage containers and hangers! 

Yesterday, boyfriend and I spent the day cleaning and organizing the apartment in preparation for our move to a slightly smaller apartment.  We filled up three huge garbage bags with clothes than no longer fit into our wardrobe and dropped them off at the donation bin.  The huge pile of metal hangers made their way to the recycling bin.  The pile of shoes in the bottom of the coat closet got organized and whittled down. 

Along our cleaning journey, we realized that we had accumulated lots of new clothes for christmas and were in need of hangers.  A series of thoughts brought us to getting in the car and driving to the closest Walmart, only to discover that everyone else in the county decided to go there too.  Were you at the big box store this weekend, because I think just about everyone in the world was in my checkout line.  (Warning - if you take a cart FULL of items into the "Speedy Checkout Line" you're going to get quite a few snide comments)

At the end of the day, our closet was slightly cleaner and our bodies were tired.  There was very little energy remaining to prepare anything for dinner.  Chopping a head of lettuce into four pieces was just about the amount of prep I could handle. 

Iceberg wedge & Blue cheese dressing

Adapted from Williams Sonoma - New York

One Year Ago: Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

I've had a couple of wedge salads in my time and I've always wanted to make it at home.  The dressing always had the same notes, but I didn't have a good base recipe.  This recipe from Williams Sonoma really hit the spot.  Although, to be completely honest with you...  After I photographed the pretty wedges of lettuce, I chopped it up and tossed it into a big bowl.  So much easier to eat, just less pretty to look at!

1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into 4-6 wedges

1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/2 cup light sour cream
juice from 1 lemon
dash of Tabasco
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
4 oz crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp fresh chive, finely chopped

1/2 cup candied walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Plate one wedge of lettuce per plate.

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the salad dressing (mayo through chives).  Spoon a few tablespoons of dressing over each wedge.  Spinkle with cranberries and walnuts.