Every now and then I get this urge to do some crazy cooking. Last week I bought and roasted a whole chicken from a Julia Child recipe. Tonight I decided to try it again. I picked mustard broiled chicken and I decided to try my hand at a risotto from a magazine. I bought a whole chicken and had to break it down. It was a horrific experience. All I can say is my knives are incredibly dull and I was so afraid of cutting myself. I want to toss all my knives in the trash!
Since I never broke down a chicken before, I decided to do what anyone would do and find a video to follow on the internet. Poor John had to walk into the kitchen several times to restart the video because my dull knives took forever. He has a sensitive stomach and watching me hack the chicken apart was a bit much for him. I, on the other hand felt liberated. I worried a little bit at the beginning of this semester if I would have trouble when we finally get to our dissection lab in my anatomy course. I think as long as I cook, I'll be fine with blood. It gets easier the more you do it and it really makes you admire your handiwork and how much work actually goes into the simple things like breaking down a chicken.
The broiling bit went ok but the chicken skin started to burn and I was afraid of lighting the house on fire. So after I switched pans, I covered the chicken and baked it at 350. This was a bit of a mistake because it was coated in breadcrumbs and they never really got cooked and crunchy. The chicken was surprisingly well cooked. I was a bit terrified that the broiler would not cook them thoroughly enough but with the baking at the end and a bit of time to rest, the meat was juicy and just perfect.
This week at the grocery store, I dropped more money than we normally do shopping so I could pick up some special ingredients for a fun week of cooking. One item was a wedge of Parmesan. Parmesan is so wonderful freshly grated. I made the risotto from a recipe in a magazine and with the fresh Parmesan it was creamy and decadent and well, the best thing I can say about it is I gave John a large helping and he ate it all.
Cooking like that is definitely a chore that dirties all of my dishes. I don't know how some people do that every day but I always hope the more I cook, the better I will be at it. At this point, I count my success as a clean plate and a compliment from John. He's always supportive even when my food is inedible but it makes me happy when he loves his dinner.
Other highlights from the week include: finishing the coursework for my intro to college course, exercising like crazy, writing my CAFO paper and meeting with our wedding officiant again.
Have a great week everyone!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Dress, Thank God
My wedding dress finally arrived today! I ordered it from Romantic Threads. I was initially pretty worried about ordering online from a company and a person I knew nothing about. It wasn't cheap either. I have to say I really think she did a fabulous job. The dress is lacy and flowy and the fit is absolutely perfect. I couldn't be happier and I think that, along with the cake, which we finally ordered and put down the deposit for yesterday, were some main stress factors. Now the big thing to get done is finish off catering details and the set up of the rooms.
Today I made a roast chicken for dinner. I've never made a whole chicken before so I was excited to give it a try. I used the instructions in the Julia Child cookbook and it turned out pretty good. I rubbed it with butter and roasted it at 425 for 15min and then a little over an hour at 350 and basted it with butter. I was hoping to have crispy skin but it didn't crisp up at all. The meat was really juicy. I think next time I'd use more herbs or brine it like I did my turkey. I want to keep cooking from the Julia Child cookbook but I'm still trying some healthier options and trying to have a variety. Earlier this week I made a stir fry with bok choy, onions, mixed bell peppers, broccoli and tofu in an oyster sauce. It was delicious and because I didn't want to torture John with it, I had enough left for several days of leftovers. I love bok choy. So delicious.
Apparently some Borders stores are closing so keep your eyes peeled for some deals! I bought some A&P flashcards and a coloring book for my course the other day 20% off. Speaking of school, I got my A&P test grade - 96. Could've been better but it wasn't terrible. I hope for a 100 next test especially since I'm really trying to devote myself more to school and less to my other free time activities. Here's hoping I'm able to keep it up!
Today I made a roast chicken for dinner. I've never made a whole chicken before so I was excited to give it a try. I used the instructions in the Julia Child cookbook and it turned out pretty good. I rubbed it with butter and roasted it at 425 for 15min and then a little over an hour at 350 and basted it with butter. I was hoping to have crispy skin but it didn't crisp up at all. The meat was really juicy. I think next time I'd use more herbs or brine it like I did my turkey. I want to keep cooking from the Julia Child cookbook but I'm still trying some healthier options and trying to have a variety. Earlier this week I made a stir fry with bok choy, onions, mixed bell peppers, broccoli and tofu in an oyster sauce. It was delicious and because I didn't want to torture John with it, I had enough left for several days of leftovers. I love bok choy. So delicious.
Apparently some Borders stores are closing so keep your eyes peeled for some deals! I bought some A&P flashcards and a coloring book for my course the other day 20% off. Speaking of school, I got my A&P test grade - 96. Could've been better but it wasn't terrible. I hope for a 100 next test especially since I'm really trying to devote myself more to school and less to my other free time activities. Here's hoping I'm able to keep it up!
Monday, February 21, 2011
27 Days Until the Wedding!
I was looking at our wedding website the other day and realized that we are now at less than a month until the wedding. This is pretty exciting but also a bit terrifying. Most times when I think of my family coming in and all the details we need to go through, I wish I had gone with John when he suggested we elope to Las Vegas. Unfortunately things are never as easy as you want them to be and just knowing how excited my mom is for this is enough for me.
My wedding dress is still not here...I had it custom made from Romantic Threads. As far as she knows my wedding is this Friday. I am definitely glad I took one of her customer's advice and told her that the wedding date was a month before the actual. I can't imagine having it last minute. There are always alterations to think about even if it is custom made and what if I don't like it??
We are also going to order our wedding cake on Wednesday. I really like the design. Since we're getting married in March, the wedding scheme is brown and green. Brown branches and green leaves. Here's a snapshot of the cake from the book at the bakery. The twist is we have to pick it up Saturday and the wedding is Sunday so we have to refrigerate it and then put the gum paste gold flowers on ourselves because they will crack in the refrigerator.
I also found a flower arch that I REALLY WANT for the cake table. I'm not sure how to make this happen. My mother seems to think I can find one at a local wedding rental store. I don't know if I have time to search all the stores in the surrounding area. I definitely don't have the skill to make my own so that is probably the only option. Here's what I saw on the internet.
Most days I can handle all the details but it is pretty stressful considering I am trying to get 4.0s in my dental hygiene prerequisites as well as plan this wedding. I am taking 3 classes. One is a preparatory course for students just entering college. I blog for it about 2 hours a week. I consider it a total waste of my time. Thank god it's only an 8 week course and I'm nearly done with it.
My second course is college level writing. Now I took this back in 1998 during Running Start and then again in 2005 when I was considering going back to school for engineering. If I have no other reason to complete this degree, not have to take another college level writing course will be reason enough. My first essay I aced with full points and my teacher asked if she could use it as an example for future students. I hated that essay and thought it was terrible. My second essay is about Trader Joe's and it was actually pretty fun to write. If dental hygiene falls through I'll probably apply for management there! Hopefully I can get perfect scores on all my papers. At least I can rewrite all of them for higher grades if I want.
We have an argument paper coming up and I believe the topics are already chosen for us. They include: the death penalty, the draft, and marijuana. YAWN. I have a more controversial topic I'd like to write about that would be much more interesting: the misplaced value of dairy products in the American culture aka how milk bought itself into our daily life and why it shouldn't be there. I think I could make a really interesting paper on that topic. But come on, the death penalty? the draft? marijuana? What is the point of writing about something that people already have set opinions on?
My last class is Anatomy and Physiology. I REALLY wish I knew how I was doing in this class but unfortunately my teacher is a huge slacker and has not posted our test grades from 2 weeks ago even though she promised them a week ago. We already took another test - our lab test - I can't even imagine when we are going to hear our grades back about that. I really need to know so I can figure out if I need to step up my learning strategies or if I'm on the right track. My sense is that I got a 90 on the test but I know she curves. Since this is the most important class I'm taking this semester, not knowing where I stand is killing me.
We've already had preregistration for summer and I've signed up for 2 courses. This could be a mistake. Currently I'm signed up for A&P 102 and Chem 111 but summer courses are condensed into 2 months and are significantly more difficult. I'm wondering if it might be a mistake to take this much during the summer especially if I'm still going to be working full time. The option is to quit work which I have thought about extensively. Unfortunately, I don't know how we are going to support ourselves for 3 years (1 year of prereqs and then 2 years of the dental hygiene program) with no influx of cash. I'm not really keen on building up huge mounds of financial aid debt. So it's really car wash or financial aid debt. As much as I hate my job, debt is not looking good.
My wedding dress is still not here...I had it custom made from Romantic Threads. As far as she knows my wedding is this Friday. I am definitely glad I took one of her customer's advice and told her that the wedding date was a month before the actual. I can't imagine having it last minute. There are always alterations to think about even if it is custom made and what if I don't like it??
We are also going to order our wedding cake on Wednesday. I really like the design. Since we're getting married in March, the wedding scheme is brown and green. Brown branches and green leaves. Here's a snapshot of the cake from the book at the bakery. The twist is we have to pick it up Saturday and the wedding is Sunday so we have to refrigerate it and then put the gum paste gold flowers on ourselves because they will crack in the refrigerator.
I also found a flower arch that I REALLY WANT for the cake table. I'm not sure how to make this happen. My mother seems to think I can find one at a local wedding rental store. I don't know if I have time to search all the stores in the surrounding area. I definitely don't have the skill to make my own so that is probably the only option. Here's what I saw on the internet.
Most days I can handle all the details but it is pretty stressful considering I am trying to get 4.0s in my dental hygiene prerequisites as well as plan this wedding. I am taking 3 classes. One is a preparatory course for students just entering college. I blog for it about 2 hours a week. I consider it a total waste of my time. Thank god it's only an 8 week course and I'm nearly done with it.
My second course is college level writing. Now I took this back in 1998 during Running Start and then again in 2005 when I was considering going back to school for engineering. If I have no other reason to complete this degree, not have to take another college level writing course will be reason enough. My first essay I aced with full points and my teacher asked if she could use it as an example for future students. I hated that essay and thought it was terrible. My second essay is about Trader Joe's and it was actually pretty fun to write. If dental hygiene falls through I'll probably apply for management there! Hopefully I can get perfect scores on all my papers. At least I can rewrite all of them for higher grades if I want.
We have an argument paper coming up and I believe the topics are already chosen for us. They include: the death penalty, the draft, and marijuana. YAWN. I have a more controversial topic I'd like to write about that would be much more interesting: the misplaced value of dairy products in the American culture aka how milk bought itself into our daily life and why it shouldn't be there. I think I could make a really interesting paper on that topic. But come on, the death penalty? the draft? marijuana? What is the point of writing about something that people already have set opinions on?
My last class is Anatomy and Physiology. I REALLY wish I knew how I was doing in this class but unfortunately my teacher is a huge slacker and has not posted our test grades from 2 weeks ago even though she promised them a week ago. We already took another test - our lab test - I can't even imagine when we are going to hear our grades back about that. I really need to know so I can figure out if I need to step up my learning strategies or if I'm on the right track. My sense is that I got a 90 on the test but I know she curves. Since this is the most important class I'm taking this semester, not knowing where I stand is killing me.
We've already had preregistration for summer and I've signed up for 2 courses. This could be a mistake. Currently I'm signed up for A&P 102 and Chem 111 but summer courses are condensed into 2 months and are significantly more difficult. I'm wondering if it might be a mistake to take this much during the summer especially if I'm still going to be working full time. The option is to quit work which I have thought about extensively. Unfortunately, I don't know how we are going to support ourselves for 3 years (1 year of prereqs and then 2 years of the dental hygiene program) with no influx of cash. I'm not really keen on building up huge mounds of financial aid debt. So it's really car wash or financial aid debt. As much as I hate my job, debt is not looking good.
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