Happy Holidays!

It's been a busy November. Last weekend we had our Annual Holiday Wine and Cheese Party. It was a little early this year because the big Pacquaio/Cotto fight was on November 14. The party was quaint but fun. We had a ton of food and cheese and wine, but we had a problem with our cable at the last minute so unfortunately I was on the phone with Verizon for most of the night. At around 10:30 we finally gave up on the cable, grabbed some desserts and wine and watched the fight over at Mae and Dennis's place. It was a great fight and I had a great time catching up with everyone. However, unfortunately, since I was distracted most of the night I didn't get a chance to take any pictures :(

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and clove.
3. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

My thoughts: Great seasonal bread. Made it for Noah's Halloween party. Very easy.

Marine Corps Marathon

Last weekend we headed downtown to check out the Marine Corps Marathon and take some pics around downtown . . .

Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair

Ingredients

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 thin chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts packed in water, rinsed, drained, and quartered
2 tablespoons rinsed and drained capers
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces angel-hair pasta
1/2 cup parsley leaves

Directions

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Place flour in a shallow dish, and season with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets, shaking off excess. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken in batches, adding remaining oil as needed, until light golden, 1 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a dish.

2. Add broth to skillet, and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by half. Add artichokes, capers, and the chicken with any juices. Gently swirl to combine, and bring just to a boil. Remove skillet from heat. Swirl in butter, and cover to keep warm.

3. Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente; drain. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta, topped with parsley.

My thoughts: LOVE this recipe from MarthaStewart.com. I used palliard chicken breast instead of culets. Used Italian Bread Crumbs instead of flour. Super fast. Super easy. Inexpensive, few ingredients. Great for a busy week night. Pasta is nice and light.

Marine Corps Marathon

This past weekend we went took Noah downtown to watch the Marine Corps Marathon. The weather was great and Noah had a lot of fun. Took a lot of pictures. Will upload soon. Lots of festivities planned for this coming Halloween weekend too including Ella's Birthday party, trick or treating with Noah, and a couple of parties with friends and neighbors.

Ignorance

During my morning commute, I heard a caller to the Junkies show on 106.7FM refer to a woman as "colored". The Junks stopped him immediately and said "What is this the 50's?!" The caller proceeded to say that he was not trying to be politically correct, but rather polite for the show. I can't believe that in this day and age, people can be so ignorant! Sorry but one is still racist even if malice is not the intent when using certain words by virtue of the connotation and definition of that word! Ignorance is not an excuse. Get a clue and an education, People!

Pics Update. . .

Lunch at Lupa in NYC for my birthday. Definitely brought us back to our vacation in Italy two years ago. We started off with a salad and ravioli. Mike had a spinach salad with pancetta and the dressing was the drippings from the pan! I had the special pasta of the day - butternut squash ravioli - SO good, SO fresh! We loved the appetizers so much, we decided to order another pasta, the gnocchi to go with our entrees - skate and chicken diavolo. Even though we were running a little late for our 2:00 show (we had to go from Greenwich Village to Times Square!), we decided to stay for dessert, the panna cotta which did not disappoint.

We hopped into a cab and the traffic sucked. So after going only 10 blocks in 20 minutes we hopped onto the subway at MSG.

When we got out of the subway, it was down pouring! Luckily I knew right where the theater was and we made a run for it. Got in 10 minutes late and luckily only missed the first ensemble song. The show was amazing! The set, the plot, the songs, the voices - LOVE, LOVE, LOVED this show! I only wish we could have gotten better seats. We were in Row W orchestra Stage left.

After the show, we hopped back on to the subway and headed back down to Tribeca for my brother and Brenda's engagement party at Matsugen, some hot Japanese restaurant. The food was delicious. Noah ate just about everything but the sushi from the tofu to the tempura to the soba! I think we had about a zillion courses, we were SO stuffed! It was great to see everyone.

Noah got to meet his Tito Vince! . . .

Girl pic minus Brenda, Aim, and Katrina . . .

Too bad we didn't get a pic with Alv and Brenda :( Afterwards the gang headed out to some random bar named Neighborhood down the block which turned out to be a Karaoke Bar too! Since the night was pretty young we had the whole place to ourselves. It was interesting but fun times as always with the cousins. Got on the mic a couple of times, but nothing eventful. Fave moment of the night had to be Januel's La Bamba duet with Brenda's friend. Don't hurt yourself Januel! See you guys during the holidays!

Sharona and Jonathan's wedding was at a beautiful mansion in Upper Marlboro. Here she is walking down the aisle.


The ceremony was usper romantic. They exchanged love letters and placed them ina momento box to open later.

Here I am with Deardra and Sharona. Together again . . .

Congrats sharona and Jonathan!!! We had a fantastic time at the wedding. The food and music were excellent!