• New job with fancy title? Check!
• Love child out of wedlock? Check! (Relax, dad.  I’m talking about Herbie! And, please see the below bullet point…)
• Engagement to my lovey? Check!
• New digs?  Check!

So much potential fodder for SmD; yet none was shared with the virtual world!  Why the return?  Well, today, while sitting on an expert panel to Intro to PR students, students who may potentially want to be in my shoes one day,  one point that was continually stressed was work/life balance and finding an outlet.  An outlet you can truly escape.  That was this blog for me.  I would think about nothing else but being my own version of Martha Stewart for the day.   Typing would help me chronicle the search for my inner domestic godess at night, while competing in a dog-eat-dog man’s world during the day.

So, carpe diem.  Sieze the day.  With our fourth (yes, fourth) annual Thanksgiving Eve party approaching and tonight serving as “prep night no. 1″ – no better time to re-emerge into the blogging scene than tonight. Like J-Lo stepping out hotter than ever (and nabbing a decades younger dude, while she’s at it) back into the dating scene, I too, was going to wow the gawking audience.

Tonight, I had grandeur visions of showcasing the pre-planned menu and photos of the prep and completion of dessert number one: beautiful golden-brown coconut spiced macaroons.  So what if it was a new recipe?  That whole “stick to what you know for entertaining” is for the amateurs.  As stated above, this was our fourth annual gig, after all. 

Using my new KitchenAid standing mixer (thanks for the shower gift, Aunt Jackie and cousin Katie!), the egg whites were foaming quite nicely – the coconut and sugars folded right in.  I took a piece of wax paper and covered the cookie sheet to place the perfectly molded macroons on.  Preheated oven to 325; timer on at 23 minutes – let’s rock and roll! 

The smell was devine.  When the beep sounded, I knew this was a score – golden brown all over – I couldn’t wait to try out this new recipe.  It was going to be a hit tomorrow. 

Then a hot mess happened:

Well, at least there’s still the crisp apple tart, pumpkin pie bites and dark chocolate almonds.  At least we’re still an organized mess!

Please, sir, may I have another?

Broccoli soup.
Broccoli with cheese.
Chicken and broccoli.
Broccoli and cavatelli (cav-a-teel).

Whatever kind broccoli you’re selling, I’ll take some more.

This dish is semi-homemade, sans Sandra Lee. Our farmer’s market has a stand that sells homemade frozen raviolis in every flavor imaginable. Think lobster, pumpkin, squash, three-cheese and, yep, you guessed it broccoli and mozzarella (or just mutz, if you please).

Boil some water, pop those babies in and by the time they’re floating – they’re ready to eat. You could just drizzle some olive oil and garlic over OR you could take a walk on the wild side and chance a broccoli overload with a creamy broccoli sauce.

If you chose the latter (woo hoo!) here’s a great recipe to try.

Broccoli Cream Sauce

3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1/4 C chopped yellow onion
1 1/2 C chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen – if frozen, one 8 oz. box will do)
1 1/2 C milk (I like to use 1%, just adds a little fat to it and fat = flava flav!)
Flour
Salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, heat olive oil, garlic and yellow onion until onion is soft. Add in chopped broccoli and cook until desired tenderness is reached. (I cooked it until about al dente, but you may cook for a longer or shorter period of time if you please.)

Slowly wisk in milk, mixing all ingredients together. Heat until a boil. Now, when I made this, I needed about 1 T flour just to thicken up the sauce a bit. You may need more or less, depending on how much liquid your broccoli contained. Use salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy! Although I used this over a broccoli and mozzarella ravioli, it would be good over angel hair or any pasta or risotto. (In fact, I was dipping break in it for the taste test! Yummy!)

I was a bit worried that the broccoli flavor would be a bit overwhelming, but the garlic and onion infused broccoli sauce really accented the broccoli from within the ravioli “meat” – which otherwise might have been lost with a traditional Alfredo or tomato sauce.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/search-results.php?recipeTypeId=1

Enjoy this day off! I hope you spend it with friends and family and those you love!

(Which reminds me…110 days until our Disney vacation!)

Hence, the case of my formal wear for Betsy’s wedding this weekend.  Last spring, my boy was in a wedding and I was meeting some of his friends for the first time.  I ended up finding this steal-of-a-deal black dress at Marshalls – you guessed it – on clearance for $15.00.  Yes, you read that correctly:  $15.00.  It was a bit dressier than a LBD (little black dress) so it wasn’t versatile enough to be my staple item, but it was ideal for this occasion: perfect length, gathered at the top, “flowey” on the bottom, this dress was made for me.

Well, here we are – 16 months later, and I am yet again, bringing that sexy little number out of the closet.  Best thing of all – it’s a whole new social scene.  For all anyone knows, this is a brand new dress.  (Except, of course, for you who I’m sharing my dirty little secret with.)

Give us examples – a bock style beer such as Samuel Adams Winter Blend or a craft wheat beer with a citrus hint such as a Blue Moon. Perhaps these aren’t the most sophisticated blends – but is there a “beer pairing for dummies” out there? (With pictures?)

All this beer talk has me reminiscing. Around the corner, by the train station, there is this fabulous little restaurant called the “Organic Beer Garden” with – you guessed it – certified organic beer. So yummy! With a multitude of flavors and ABV’s ranging from 4.0% (for the light-weights) to 9.5% (for those who can hold their own), these beverages go with anything. My favorite pair, although some may argue unconventional, is the Samuel Smith (England) organic cider (ABV 5.0%) with a soft shell crab sandwich.

You want the kicker? Owner Dieter Bornemann wanted to thank his customers and celebrate his anniversary of citizenship in this great nation of the US of A by offering a buy one get one FREE special on all entrees! (It was supposed to stop in July – but I still saw signs around town promoting this deal – so, heck, next time you go in, be sure to ask if its still valid!)

You feel sogo [sic - so good] inside.

SoGo Sushi can’t be beat. (On a side note – there’s a really hip bar/lounge/sushi bar/restuarant right across the street and it is so hard to eat there because I feel like a cheater.) But honestly – SoGo’s menu [dare I say it again?] cannot be beat.

SoGo is a family-run sushi restaurant, the size of a walk-in closet. No dining in, no deliveries. Take-out only. The fish is the freshest and the rice only comes in the brown variety – you know, the kind that’s good for your digestive system.

The draw is the brown rice – it’s heartier, nutier, and just better for you. Not to mention, the chef is innovative and there are always new rolls on the wall’s chalkboard. The restaurant website states “brown rice is not traditionally used for sushi in Japan, but since it’s a healthy whole grain, SoGo has decided to bend the rules”. And boy, am I glad they did.

Want a four-ingredient recipe? Well, here’s a visual recipe card…follow along:

(one bottle – 750 mL)

+

(2 cups your choice flavor)

+

(2 liter bottle)

+

(enough to make 2 cups – drain all liquid)
*also, to make the presentation prettier, you can slice up some citrus-y fruit such as limes, lemons and/or oranges

=

(lets just say that this recipe has been known to have a baby-making effect on some people…)

E:  “in this economy”  Are you tired of hearing that as we are?  Everyone’s tightening their belts - we get it. 
To combat this rough economy, the webmaster on rachaelraymag.com conveniently created a new page, aptly titled:  $10 Spot – for family dinners that cost 10 bucks or less.  Pretty cool, right?  But honestly, my friend Camille said it best “I don’t mind spending money on good food.”  And I must agree with her. 

Whether its Wegmen’s or Whole Foods (or even Acme’s Wild Harvest organic line), I would rather spend an extra $10 on a cartfull of healthy groceries than hitting up the $5.99 fried chicken dinner special at the deli counter or frozen convenience foods filled with preservatives.  As with most things, it’s all about choices.

M:  music.  Keep yourself company in the kitchen (even when you’re alone) with playlists.
Music to chop to:  The First Cut is the Deepest – Sheryl Crow
                                     Cuts Like a Knife – Bryan Adams
                                     Into the Groove – Madonna
Music to stir to:    Daydreaming – Corrine Bailey Rae
                                    Five Minutes More – Frank Sinatra
                                    Stop and Stare – OneRepublic
Music to grill to:  Don’t Stand So Close to Me – The Police
                                    Not Dark Yet – Bob Dylan
                                    Burn – The Cringe

Bravo, RR, bravo!  Not only was this a set list full of quality, yet eclectic, artists, but tongue-in-cheek too!  I love it!  Download these tunes and start movin’ and groovin’ in your own kitch!

P.S. – Happy Birthday, Rach!

Were you just “raising the roof” after reading those questions?  Let’s float out the idea of pulling all three together f0r a match made in heaven.  Would you be on board?

Well…Frankie beat us to it.  Who is this man with a delicious idea, you may ask?  Well Frankie is actually Claudia Frankenberg, valedictorian of the prestigious New York Restaurant School.  After quite an extensive career in the food and beverage industry and years spent pairing foods in the most exquisite of restaurants, Claudia found that the most delightful combination, not to mention her favorite, that of dried fruit and chocolate, was not very prominent in US retail.  So, Claudia took matters into her own hands and started up Frankie’s with the hope to inspire fellow foodies to fall in love with this combination. 

How could we not.

Check these babies out:

…I wonder if you could, for argument’s sake, buy some molds and chocolate at the local Michael’s store, some fruit from the farmers market and make your own?  I’m usually all for copycat recipes, but in this case let’s support this recently launched business (December, 2008) that supports its local charities!

Okay – so now the big questions is – when is and who’s hosting our next girls get-together?  I need an excuse to order some of these and they seem a perfect accompaniment to a bottle of wine.