Saturday Post No. 4

My view, for what seems like forever. Jealous, aren't you. Oh, and there are more outlines that aren't pictured. Now you're super jealous.

Today I'm taking a break for the afternoon to go see Andrew present one of his papers at a conference on campus - I'm so proud of him - he's presenting along with other grad students from all over the country! And I'll actually take a break, meaning I won't be muttering the rules for Terry stops and frisks to myself, as I've caught myself doing on several occasions lately (while doing dishes, running to the store, etc...if people think I'm crazy I certainly wouldn't blame them!).

How did we get through this last summer? Sometimes when I'm trying to memorize rules, I still can't believe I wrote something intelligible enough on those essays to pass the first time around. Here's hoping that kind of luck will strike again.

I'm off to see if I can knock a few more note cards off my list before the conference and move them from the "I-don't-remember-studying-this-at-all" stack to the "I-think-I've-got-this-memorized-for-now" stack.

The rest of you, enjoy your Saturday!

Hello, sunshine!

The only thing that is making studying bearable today is the amount of sunshine that's streaming in from the living room windows. Can it be that springtime is trying to make its way to MKE?  

I have to take a bit of a blogging hiatus because the next several days have to be devoted to full time studying. In just about two weeks, I'll be on my way back from Madison, ready to celebrate being done with another bar exam...we should start stocking up on wine now in order to adequately prepare for that. 

On tonight's menu: shrimp étouffée with red beans and rice, very appropriate for Mardi Gras! The kitchen smells so good because we did a lot of our prep work earlier, when Andrew was back home on a break before heading back to campus for class tonight. 

Now I just have to make it through a few more hours of studying before dinner, then it's back to the note cards and outlines yet again...

But if you're looking for something fun to watch for a few minutes (which I inevitably am, after every few pages of notes!), check out Paperman, one of the animated short's that's nominated for an Oscar this year. It's a sweet and lovely distraction.

You're invited.

People keep asking me if wedding planning is stressful. They all seem surprised when I tell them that's what I go to when I want to de-stress! It's definitely one hundred times more fun than studying property law or the elements of specific intent crimes - how I can't wait for three weeks from now, when the WI bar will be over! For the most part (excluding one issue earlier this week...), planning our wedding has been fun and oh-so-exciting. We're almost six months away, and are so ready to celebrate! 

Right now we are in the process of finalizing the design of our wedding invitations, and I've been so fortunate to have one of my extremely talented and creative friends help me through it all. She is amazing, and I can't wait to send them to our family and friends this summer! The final product isn't finished just yet, and of course, I want to wait to post anything about them until after they're sent out, but in the search for ideas, I've found some really lovely invites on various sites online. Some of these are truly works of art, just as a wedding invite should be! 

The links to the websites are on the bottom of the page. Be warned: it's easy to get lost in all the gorgeous letterpress and calligraphy...don't be surprised if all of a sudden you look at the time and 30 minutes have gone by...! 

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Photos (1), (2), (3), (4) via Minted; (5), (6) via Bellafigura; (7) via Paper Rock Scissor.

Popovers!

Remember a while ago when I said I'd post the recipe for popovers? Well, here you are, and it couldn't be an easier one: 

Mix together 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl; let the mixture sit for one hour at room temperature (or you can refrigerate overnight and remove to room temp at least 30 minutes before baking). 

Pour mixture into a popover pan that has about 1/2 a tablespoon of melted butter in the bottom, filling it about 3/4 full. 

Bake at 450 degrees for about ten minutes, then lower it to 400 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes more. This should make 6-8 popovers, depending on your pan. 

There are no excuses for not making these (I'm really wanting some for tomorrow's dinner): if you don't have a popover pan, use a muffin tin! Seriously, delicious. 

P.S.: I'm liking these recipes with no more than 4 basic ingredients...

P.P.S.: Apparently today is World Nutella Day. I think I need to make those doughnuts. 

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Photo via Michael Ruhlman; photo by Donna T. Ruhlman. 

MN Mondays: Spring at home + Superbowl food.

As I was cleaning up some of the files on my laptop I stumbled across this gem. This picture is from the tiny lake (like really tiny...maybe it's more like a big pond?) of Kordiak park by our house at home. I've gone on so many walks there, we've hosted parties there, and I'm really wishing I was there right now! It's such a small little park, but just big enough for Medyk to run around through and not get too tired. Can't tell I'm craving sunshine and warm weather (and home) at all, can you.

At least we had some fun to distract ourselves from the not-so-nice winter weather yesterday! We snacked on our homemade bar food throughout the day and watched the game at night. Andrew made awesome wings that were smoked the day before, then fried and tossed with two different barbecue sauces, a mustard one and a spicier habanero one. We also made this fantastic guacamole and fried our own tortilla chips. "Guac" is one of my favorite snacks, even though I hated it when I was little - I think it was too green for my liking or something along the same ridiculous lines.

I would've added a serrano pepper to the mix, but that's because we like our food spicy! Otherwise this was a pretty mild version, almost sweet, in a way, because of the roasted garlic. So good.

I can't believe we're into February now. I was talking with one of my friends about how neither of us really like this month because at this point winter's boring and we're needing some fresh air. Anyone else feel that way? I am excited, though, for Andrew's birthday at the end of the month. It'll be a busy three weeks leading up to it, but I know we'll celebrate well...I already have his birthday present, and I can't wait to see his reaction!! 

Have a good start to your week, everybody! 

Almond meringue cookies.

Happy February! When did that happen? 

Last night I made these pillowy almond treats for dessert. They were so easy and quick to make - like really fast - I came back from the store and they were in the oven 15 minutes later. They only require 3 ingredients, and it's very likely that you'll already have 2 of those 3 on hand in your kitchen right now! 

The recipe is from Ferran Adria's The Family Meal. One of my favorite things about this book is that it lists the exact amount of ingredients needed for the recipe depending on the number of people you're serving, eliminating any math (and who likes math?) necessary to change the quantities you might need if you're preparing a dish for 2 people or for 50. This makes it perfect for us, when we are just two! 

Almond Meringue Cookies (adapted from The Family Meal). 

Yield: about 18 cookies (for 2 to enjoy over a few meals, including dessert, late night snack, and breakfast...) 

Ingredients: 

1 cup + 1 Tbsp. ground almonds (I bought slivered almonds and pulsed them in the food processor until they were finely ground). 

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg white

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Beat the egg white with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, for a few minutes. Add the sugar and continue to beat until thickened and glossy. Fold in the almonds with a rubber spatula. Scoop spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake, rotating once, for 14-15 minutes, until cookies have risen. Cool on a wire rack (and try not to eat all of them immediately). 

HOW EASY IS THAT?!? 

Have a wonderful weekend, and keep your fingers and toes crossed for me - I'm needing some good news and am hopeful this next week will be a good one.