Eat, Cook, Read, and Other Things That I Love

The main point of the blog was to record milestones and events in my first year of marriage.  We had a wonderful and eventful year.

I have plans for a new blog.  Check it out:  http://knitcookread.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday, Jon!

Today we celebrated Jon's 28th birthday!  His first birthday as a married man!  Even though I had to work, we had a nice day.  We had lunch at The Pastime.  When I got off from work, Jon opened his birthday gifts.  Then we had a nice dinner at Coyote Blues.

I made Jon a cake on Saturday.

A caramel cake that was quite yummy!

I made pizza on Sunday!

White Clam Pizza on Neo-Neapolitan pizza dough is delicious!

Merry Christmas!

Jon and I had a great first Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a married couple.  We spent it here in Baton Rouge.  Just us and the cats.

Jon had to play for his church service yesterday, so we celebrated our first Christmas together in Baton Rouge.

I have been planning the perfect meal for sometime.  I planned on having it for Christmas, but we were invited to my Uncle Ben and Aunt Marsha's in Gonzales for Christmas Day.  Since we accepted the invitation, I decided to make my dinner on Christmas Eve.

I cooked a turkey breast, oyster dressing, spinach Madeline, and mashed potatoes.  We had tea and lemon meringue pie for dessert.

When I got off from work Wednesday night, I cleaned the Christmas china and got the kitchen cleaned and organized.  I wanted everything to be ready in the morning, so things would move smoothly.

I can appreciate the effort that it takes to make a nice Christmas dinner.  It takes a lot of work.  It was my first time doing the cooking, but everything came out perfectly!

We got up this morning and opened up our Christmas gifts.  I am not going to list each gift that Jon have to me.  I got a set of bamboo knitting needles and a knitting book.  I also got a bracelet, a knit hat with cat ears on it, and a Janis Joplin bio.  I got Jon some books, a hoodie, Stephen King's Under the Dome on audio, among other things.

Then I made waffles for breakfast.  They were great! 

Jon and I had a wonderful first Christmas as a married couple.  Full of fun memories!

We look forward to our trip to Virginia for our Christmas visit with Jon's family.  We will be there for the new year.  We leave next week on Wednesday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Random Thoughts: Food, Movies, and Travel

This week has not been too hectic, though it sure has had a few moments.

Monday evening, I made a yummy cauliflower soup.  It was pretty slow, since I made it in the slow cooker.  It wasn't cooking all day.  I put it on when I got home from work!

Tonight, I made another New Haven clam pizza.  It was awesome!  I have two more balls of Neo-Neapolitan pizza dough in the freezer.  So unless I decide to try another topping that is compatible with this type of dough, we may have New Haven clam pizza at least two more times.

This makes me want to go to New Haven, Connecticut or just any where in Connecticut.  I am sure that the fall time is the perfect time to visit this region.   I would have to go to Mystic and eat at Mystic Pizza.  Mystic Pizza is one of my all time favorite movies!

I have been enjoying music and my i-Pod.  Since I do not have my own vehicle, I do not have time to really listen to music.  I have missed it, but have started listening on the PC.  I listened while cooking tonight and it helped me enjoy it.

Lay Lady Lay is my new favorite song by Bob Dylan.  I am not sure how I have missed this one, but it fell through the cracks some how.  I am so glad I know it now!

Not too much happening...

We have been doing well. Work is better. Jon starts school next week.

I made pizza this past weekend. It was fun, but lots of work. I made a Neo-Neapolitan pizza dough from scratch. Then I made New Haven Clam Pizza. It was so good! The dough was what took the most time to make. I have three other dough balls in the freezer, so it will be easier for at least three more times.

The book I used was American Pie: My Search For the Perfect Pizza. I check it out from my local public library.

I finished the first book in the Big Stone Gap series by Adriana Trigiani. I would like to read the wholes series, but will have to take a break. Jon wants to read Dead Until Dark, so that is what I will read next. We want to try reading the same book, so we can talk about it. I guess it will be like having our own little mini book club. I'm excited!

We had a very nice and relaxing weekend. I did not feel like doing much. It was nice to have both Saturday and Sunday off.

Jon surprised me today by coming to get me for lunch. We went to Izzo's.

He made a great chili in the slow cooker tonight. I am so proud of him. I am glad that I was able to step back and let him do it. This is something that I usually make, but I have been so busy.

Jon is so great about helping me around the house. Housework is the last thing I feel like doing, when I am off.

I love my husband so much!