Everyday is a holiday (when there's chocolate cake)!

(I apologize in advance for the odd placement of these videos. Blogger is giving me a hard time. I'm not pleased!)

Today my mom cleaned the basement and found AJ's favorite sparkly ball. Sometimes he fetches like a dog. When he's not being lazy. But your ONLY shot at getting him to fetch is if this ball is involved. It has been a joy playing with him today. He gets wild at night. And even if nobody has the energy to play with him... oh he'll do just fine by himself.

In other news, the snow looked like it was all done abusing us after Snowpocalypse 2011. But just when we thought it was taking a vacation, Snowpocalypse strikes again! It just doesn't quit.

My mom was shredding paper like a madwoman today. (Man, cleaning the basement, shredding papers, going for walks. That woman does it all.) and I saw this massive paper bag full of the shreds. And when I say massive, I mean massive. It was one of those huge "yard waste" paper bags that you stuff leaves in after raking the yard. Full. I wish I would have taken a photo of it. Crazy. Instead of taking a photo though, I used some for a super quick art project. 

 

I don't know how I feel about it. Kinda cool. Kinda lame. But hey, it was worth a shot.

Today I tried round two of baking this "Everyday Chocolate Cake" from my favorite food blog once again. I made it back in mid-December for a Christmas party with my friends. It tasted delicious but it sunk! Oy vey! This one turned out a bit better in the looks department and just as good in the taste department. Let me tell you. This is my kind of cake. It's chocolate, it's an m-word that is frequently used in describing delicious confections but my friends and family could tell you how much I despise it, and it has NO FROSTING! Honestly, people. If the cake is done right, there is never a need for frosting.

So butter always needs to soften for these kinds of things. And, in this case, the eggs were also supposed to come to room temperature. As usual, I didn't think of allowing the butter to soften early enough, so while it softened I measured out all my ingredients (I prepared my Mise En Place (MEEZ ahn plahs), if you will. Fancy!). 

On the left: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt. In the middle: granulated sugar and brown sugar. On the right: buttermilk and vanilla.

Do not fret. This is not gloppy looking oatmeal. Nor vomit. It's the wet ingredients. Sometimes the most beautiful cakes come from the most humble beginnings. Or something like that.

Look! Proof! Doesn't that batter look delicious? For some reason both times I have made this my batter looks a bit different from the images on the Smitten Kitchen blog. Mine looks thicker- almost like frosting. I can't figure out why that is. If you have any idea, please, let me know! But either way, the cake turns out delicious.

Voilà! Chocolate cake. And delicious to boot. And I'm not just saying that because I made it. I tried it out on two completely impartial parties. And they loved it. And when I say "impartial parties," I mean my mom and dad. Impartial enough, right?

Yum.

Professional Amateur Advice: Style Tips from Allie

In a recent episode of online shopping, I happened across an interesting garment. After much internal debate, it made its way hesitantly to my "Shopping Cart". I continued shopping. Once I felt the website was thoroughly scanned, I confidently clicked "Check Out". I arrived at the check out. As suggested, I reviewed my selected items. This one garment stood out like a sore thumb. You see, like most people, I purchase clothing for the way it looks. But comfort and practicality are right up there on my checklist as well. I was not convinced this item could meet my standards for either of these criteria. I dragged my cursor over the "remove" button, closed my eyes, and clicked. Continue checkout. Credit card info. Billing address. Is the shipping address the same as billing? Yes. Continue. Please review your billing and shipping information then click "Buy Now". Once you click this button, your purchase will have been made. Ugh. The pressure. THE POINT OF NO RETURN. Do you know what happened next?

Yes. I put an abrupt halt on the check out process and ran with arms wide open back to this one impractical garment. I did it. I bought it. Only a delivery would allow rest for my weary, empty-pocketed soul.

As it turns out, my soul may still yearn for cash, but one cannot put a price tag on the fulfillment and delight this mesh bodysuit has brought me.

It makes me feel badass. And it is surprisingly comfortable. And currently there is nothing I would rather layer with.

This is how I wore it today.

It adds a bit of grunge to the ensem, oui? Speaking of grunge, I've lately been living in these jeans. Black, skinny but not overly tight, torn. (Do not be fooled by my convincing acting/posing. This tear does not upset me. Just the opposite, in fact.)

Along with my mesh suit of wonder, I also received these beauties in my package. They too were part of my get-up today.

Allie, Allie! Can we please, pretty please get just one more insight into your current style experiments? My pleasure. One of these things is not like the other....

I've lately been allowing my pinkies to express themselves as individuals. After all, they're not just ANY finger. And just because they might be the least functional or necessary finger on the human hand, doesn't mean they cannot still make a statement. And be adorable while doing so, for that matter.

Power to the Pinkies!

New post three days later?! The Earth has tilted.

First of all, I just read the latest blog entry from the Lake Forest College Coffee House (now known as Cafe Calypto) Writing Club. I highly encourage you click here  to check it out. Slam poet Andrea Gibson visited campus to perform a few of her poems. There is a link to a video of one of her "most arresting poems", as bloggers from Cafe Calypto put it.

I don't have much to say today, aside from mundane comments about the beautiful weather. So I'll refrain and just show you some photos from the past few days. I spent a number of days house/dog sitting for a friend. Between the dog walking, reading, playing, feeding, etc., I found a few photo opportunities.

Amazing light fixtures in Laura's house.

And the goofiest dog in the world. Readers, this is Koa.

And readers, THIS is my perfect cat, AJ.

We also had a pretty wild snow storm recently, as did much of the U.S. My mom documented a bit.

Aaaand the last bit of photos. My dinner last night! A family favorite: Cannelloni.

This is my homemade marinara. 

It's a piece of cake. Saute diced onions in some olive oil until they start turning transparent. Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper (as much as you like, depending on your tolerance/love for spice) stir for a minute or two. Add a can of either diced or crushed tomatoes. Obviously crushed will turn out a smoother sauce. Then add seasonings! I usually stick with dried herbs for simplicity's sake. Normally I would add some oregano, basil, and maybe a little sage as well as some salt and pepper. This time I went really simple lazy and just added some pre-mixed italian seasoning. You can eat it once it's warm or let it simmer all day. Most people would tell you the longer it simmers, the better it will taste. This is accurate in that the flavors will be allowed to develop over time. However, I love my marinara to have a really fresh tomato flavor, and I don't like it to thicken too much. So I often prefer it after just a few minutes of simmering. Either way, yum. And this is a perfect platform for all kinds of marinaras. You can use this base and add things like bell peppers, mushrooms, meats, red wine, or cream for all kinds of varieties. 

Cannelloni is interesting because it's a rolled pasta filled with goodies (in this case, spinach, cheeses, prosciutto, pork sausage) which is not too different from stuffed shells or even lasagna. But it does differ from these other pasta dishes in that it bakes before adding any sauce. They're simply brushed with melted butter and popped in the oven. This lets the pasta get golden brown and a bit crisp on the edges.

THEN you add the sauce. And then you enjoy. Preferably with a glass (or mason jar) of wine.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weather and the weekend.

TGI The Day After Valentine's Day.

Oh my. Please bare with me for a bit as I recollect my Valentine's Day for you. It was more or less uneventful until my work began. To make a long story short, it was just about the worst night to be a server at Ada Grill. While I think everyone was unprepared for the massive, united flock of diners continuously pouring through the door, the men in the kitchen took unpreparedness to a whole new level. From the time our restaurant was full to the time our doors locked, I don't think I served any of my tables food that took less than 45 minutes to make it to their table. According to my fellow servers, the same was true for them. I, however, bit the biggest of bullets. Two of them. After having waited for approximately one hour for their food, two separate tables of mine vocalized their concerns. 

Table number one: 'Umm, it's been about an hour. Do you know if our food is coming? Because if it's going to be much longer, we're not going to be able to stay.' 

Table number two: 'Hey, I don't mean to be a bother, but I'm just trying to spend some time having a Valentine's dinner with my family before I have to go back to work. Do you know how much longer this will be?' 

As if it's not painful enough to have to constantly apologize for the (inexcusably) long wait for food, I went back to check with the kitchen on the status of both of these orders. Turns out... the kitchen managed to lose BOTH of these tickets and neither of them had even been started. I was mortified. I delivered the bad news and talked to the owner of the restaurant about it. He spoke with both my tables (unbelievably, I had to request he do this) and everything was made okay. Their meals were free. I spent much of the rest of the night thanking whatever higher order there may be for helping my two troubled tables keep enough peace of mind to not take their impatience and empty stomachs out on me.

Needless to say, I felt pretty defeated by the end of the night, but there were a few highlights.

1. I finished the night at the bar with my similarly drained coworkers and two very delicious, very stiff drinks.

2. My boyfriend, the wonder of whom cannot be described in words, called the restaurant and told my manager it was an emergency to get me on the phone... only to tell me Happy Valentine's Day and that he loves me. I was WAY too busy to express the wholeness of my appreciation. So, Zak, thank you and I love you. You're the greatest. Period.

3. One of my tables told me that they remembered me serving them once or twice before and praised me for my wonderful serving skills. While it is certainly not my ambition in life to perfect my expertise in delivering plates of food, I still do find much pride in doing whatever it is you do to the very best of your ability. Serving isn't what I'll be doing forever. But I'm doing it now. And I hope to do it well.

4. My dad came in to eat with my mother and their two wonderful friends, The Johnsons. I love their company while I'm at work, but, admittedly, I love the payoff more. Dad always takes care of me :).

PHEW. ONTO THE FUN STUFF.

I recently made a delicious dinner for my parents and myself. Confession: I had NEVER eaten chicken pot pie before this night, let alone made it. (Assuming you do not count the single bite I once had of Zak's frozen Stouffer's chicken pot pie.) I kept forgetting to photo-document along the way, but I did get enough.

Roasting the chicken. (I did this and made the dough a day in advance.)

Peeling a MILLION (actually 52) pearl onions. The recipe called for the frozen, pre-peeled variety, but I tried three different grocery stores and couldn't find them! These worked just fine and the extra time required was SO worth it.

The nude little guys:

Onions and butter. Two of my all-time favorite things.

Onions and butter after the flour was introduced. A magnificent rue, indeed.

This is when things started to look yummy. Everybody in the pool!

 Nom nom.

It's gettin' hot in hereeee so take of all... ahem. what?

Cannot wait to...

DIG IN!

If this looks tasty to you (aka if you are human) you can check out the recipe here.

While you're at it, check out the rest of that website. Perhaps my favorite food blog. 

She mentions that the recipe is a slightly modified version of Food Network Personality Ina Garten's chicken pot pie. While that woman and her husband drive me clinically mad, she knows her stuff! When it comes to the classics, you cannot go wrong with Ina. Her french onion soup is also TO DIE FOR (though, you should certainly put gruyere or at least your basic swiss cheese on top). That recipe can be found here. 

I also made a salad to go along with the pot pie. And I took this idea from my friend Claire's mom. 

Romaine, purple cabbage, apple, avocado, toasted slivered (or sliced) almonds, celery, bleu cheese, and your favorite balsamic vinaigrette. It was the first time I had ever had celery in a salad. Revelation. Almost as significant as the first time I had fresh herbs in a salad. 

* * * * *

Today is a good day. It was over 40 degrees. I didn't have work. I'm blogging. I had Chipotle for lunch. My mom is almost done with our meatloaf dinner. YUM. And currently, I look like this:

Favorite chair

Favorite jeans

Favorite drink (Jack and Coke)

Favorite new wine-bottle-turned-glass

New bracelet from Mom and Dad (V-Day gift...made me cry)

I hope all your 214 days were magnificent. But, as my title indicates, I'm thrilled it's over and done with!

I'm going to cuddle my cat until it's dinner time.