una mas!

one more childhood friend just got engaged! i am SOO excited. so anoop and now gautam! our parents are friends and were were all born within one year of each other, so they are the closest thing i have to brothers, although they are more like cousins. i am so incredibly thrilled for them both.

so anoop is having the wedding in chicago and another reception in ny a few weeks later and then gautam is having the wedding in india (she is indian) and then the party in long island after. and we will have to go down there for the engagement parties! two whole indian on indian weddings! break out the saris and the diamonds!

woo hoo!

so, what is that - 7 total?

going to the chapel

as i sit here daydreaming at work, i realize how many weddings i have this year...

abbey and neftali - march. local, but i have nothing to wear...

erin and andy - june, not local, but i have that blue dress. phew.

jess and jarrod - july, local and i can recyle the blue dress, since no one from erin's wedding will be at jess' wedding

steve and jen - august, i might not make the cut for this one, but if i do it is not local but i can STILL wear the blue dress (bess is the only one who has seen at (at laura's wedding) and she wont tell:)

dan and becca - october. local and can you say "blue dress"? although, if i can get my hands on something cool and indian and new, i might wear that instead.

anoop and someone - november. a childhood friend and i couldnt be happier! but we will have to go to either long island or chicago. but i can wear my pretty green sari! yay!

ok, back to work.

french kiss!

french onion soup: i have been wanting to make it for AGES. but something or the other kept coming up - got home too late, didnt have enough onions, had other food that was going to go bad, what have you. but then last monday, i skipped the gym and came home and sliced onions and sauted and it was good. i served it with some guyrere cheese toasts. this is def a repeat recipe.

josh had friday off so i put him in charge of the minestrone soup for dinner. it came out a little stewish, and when i dipped my bread in and took a bite, vague memories flooded in. it tasted like something, but i couldnt put my finger on it. until josh mentioned he added some indian spices. then i realized - i was eating pau bajhi. one of my favorite indian dishes - stewed veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions, beans, tomatos) served on buttered bread. so good. and so what josh made. my mom laughed when i told her.

ego boost

today i saw a father of a high school classmate. i wasn't really friends with this classmate - we had a few classes together through the years, but we ran in different circles and had different friends. i don't think i even talked to her in school, let alone socialized with her outside of school. i had never met her father. until today. he heard my name and immidiately said, "oh! the fantasitc writer! i remember your pieces from high school! it is good to finally meet the famous author."

i was stunned. yes i wrote for the paper and was co-editor of the literary magazine (ahh the power struggles between me and kevin ) but i didn't think the parents read what i wrote, let alone remembered them 8 years later.

it was better than a million eye compliments. and that is saying a lot..

chicken pot, chicken pot, chicken pot pie.....*

hello all!

so i have been spending the last wek sitting on the couch and taking pictures of things within my reach. they include the picken pot pie i made (seriously, i think it is the best thing i have ever made. it was fantasic, and i don't mind saying so, esp all the people who tasted it thought so too:) ) i was esp proud since it was the first time i tried to make it and the first time i made puff pastry from scratch.

the culinary high did not last long, though... the orichette i made was not as fabu - i think it was bc i made the dough a few days before i cooked it. it didn't have that same fresh pasta taste... it tasted fine. but as josh said, i have made better...

oh, and note to self: when cooking with spinach, wash several times. one pass just doesnt cut it anymore. i liked the rollatini i made on monday, but could have done without the sandy crunch in every bite. ah well - won't make that mistake twice...

here are some food pics and then some results of camera boredom.

















* - if you can name the source of the quote, you will have my undying respect.

and the winner is....

best ad from last night. hands down.

maybe they are on my side after all...

recently

there hasn't been much to report. been cooking some, hugh laurie-dvding it some some, and housekeeping some. i got the brunt of the duties this weekend, since josh went and got the car inspected in the bitter cold. which is all well and good, until i tried to leave for laura's superbowl party and it made a sad noise. i was much aquainted with dying engines when max was umm.. dying.. so i hope this can be cleared up with a simple jump. we are waiting for the guy to come as i type.

other than domestic life, not much has happened. a young girl, new to this country, picked me up at the bus stop last week, so we got together for coffee this afternoon. she is very sweet and i can't wait to introduce her to H&M:)

made risotto again and had a charged battery, so below is a pic of my butternut squash and bacon risotto - extremely good. not sure if i like this or the mushroom better... but do i know there are more risotto experiments in my future. maybe enough to warrent a risotto pan? i will discuss with the boy.

also went to abbey's bachlorette party in nyc last weekend. a good time was had by all. went for kosher japaneese food and then back to one of the bridesmaids' flat for cupcakes! ahh crumbs, how i have missed thee. it was a big day for cupcakes, since jackson and i went to pick some up at magnolia's after brunch. and no, there is not such thing as too much buttercream. i looked up the recipe for buttercream once, wanting to make some myself, but was quickly put off by the ingredients. the phrase "ignorence is bliss" applies quite nicely to buttercream. i just typed buttercream a lot. one more time: buttercream.

also had some good QT with my darling B. we watched youtube and laughed about foodnetwork hosts that show too much cleavage and have scary smiles and pronounce italian words like they are teaching italian to monkeys. it was good to see her again.

last night saw allie when she was in town for the weekend, which was nice. she is off to the southwest tomorrow and i probably won't see her until may or june. hopefully we can get out there to visit, but with the five weddings this year, travel funds are tight. it was good to see both her and jay though.

here are some pics from the last week or so. enjoy while i wait for the car guy:)

scallops at the very nice french place becca and i went to last friday night. after dinner i met her new beau and i HIGHLY approve. he is a sweetie.


my until recently estranged friend jackon took me to a coffee bean store. i got semi high once off second hand pot at a john foghery concert. this place was way worse - i buzzed and crashed in about 10 minutes from the smell alone....



my risotto! the pic isnt that great though... not quite sure how smittenkitchen does it...