wine wednesday

Fish or chicken? Fish. Add a little lime, cumin and cajun seasonings, cilantro and a chipotle cream sauce and well, you've got fish tacos. Ole!

Trying something new is always on our Wine Wednesday checklist, but this week included a new challenge: turn a non-fish taco fan into a true believer. Atop this challenge we had a new ingredient to our weekly food frenzy -- a third cook in the kitchen. Camille and I invited a fellow Mizzou journalism grad who lives in the city to join us. Casey brought her flair and fashion into the kitchen, and well, she's here to stay. Thanks for your great guac Case!

I think Camille is now a fan of fish taco's and Casey is nothing short of the next Rachael Ray.

Barely had enough time to take a picture of the guacamole before it was all gone!

This week was very easy.

Pan 1: cook two pounds tilapia filets on the stove

Bowl 1: a mixture of mayo, sour cream and chipotle pepper sauce.

Side bowls included chopped tomatoes, cilantro and corn

cork art?

Since 2006 I have collected corks. Seventy five percent of them have dates written on them along with who I dined with. Special ones include my college graduation dinner, my sister visiting New York, wine nights with my girlfriends in college, birthdays and multiple weddings. I keep them all in two large glass vases, which are soon to overflow. I've been trying to think of something I could eventually do with them because I don't want to just throw them away. That would be like throwing away a box of old photos and memories.

Other than keeping the corks bottled up (ha!) I found a few new ideas, other than the typical cork board and coasters made from old corks. The first picture is what most of my corks look like, which Belle Maison calls cork journaling. I never thought of it as journaling, but it is just that. I can look back at a little cork and remember where I was and who I was with... and clearly, what we drank.

Second, a festive wreath. I don't know if I want to paint my corks, but I like the idea, even it is kept natural with merely a red bow added for that Christmasy affect. The clock is also I sleek way of using corks. I stumble upon a lot of old clocks at the flea markets that really just need a new battery and a fresh coat of paint, but applying the corks to the face could give a retro clock a whole new feel. Apartment Therapy always has new and innovative ways of recycling materials. Like making a bath mat out of corks. I don't think i would have thought about doing this, but what I like most about the idea is that you can make it any size you want.

Have you made or seen other projects with repurposed wine corks? I'm always shopping for new ideas.

photo: cork journaling, wreath, clock, Belle Maison; bath mat, Apartment Therapy

furniture finds

Why is finding a chair so difficult? Maybe it's my budget and lack of ability to buy a fixer-upper and get it reupholstered. As much as I would like to find an old piece and redo it, it just doesn't seem to be in the cards. As some of you may remember, I did buy an entire set of vintage furniture at Hell's Kitchen Flea Market in 2008 and had it shipped along the railroad down to Arkansas. So in all reality I'm sure I could figure out someway to either get a chair from Arkansas up to New York or find a way to get a chair to and from a upholsterer. I think I'm just waiting till I find the right one. Here a few fun and different chairs I have found on Etsy.

what's cooking wine wednesday

A few of my favorite things all combined into one fabulous night each week. When school is in session, my pal Camille and I meet up to have girl's night. After working all day we want to put on comfy, casual attire and lay on the couch... while eating fantastic food. Wine Wednesday's were established about this time last year and have served as a great mid-week break from work and life's daily agenda. Last night was the first official What's Cooking Wine Wednesday of the 2010-2011 "school year." Let me explain why this a school year based event. Camille's fiance, Derrick is studying civil engineering at NYU and has a full schedule of classes, meetings and studying. Usually we make Derrick a plate and put it in the frig for him to have when he comes home, but sometimes he gets finished early and gets to dine with us.

That's the background. This is the transformation from merely Wine Wednesday to the new and improved What's Cooking Wine Wednesday. Established September 22, 2010 on York Avenue. In the past we would chat over wine and cheese or if it had really been a bad day at work, we would spring for Chinese take-out, but not anymore. Camille and I now like to put on our chef hats and get cookin' in the kitchen! Our first "gourmet" meal was a collaboration of what each of had in our frig and cabinets. I had shiitake and button mushrooms, as well as all the ingredients for my new favorite recipe, fontina crostini's. Camille had all the necessities and picked up pork-chops on her way home. I got to her place a little early to take Tucker (the beautiful German short-haired pointer I often dog sit) out before it rained and Camille called to have the wine delivered shortly after. Ready, set, COOK!

Pan 1: a little olive oil, a little red wine, freshly minced garlic and two pounds of mushrooms. A new thing i read about sautéing mushrooms: Put in skillet and turn on heat and leave alone for four to five minutes. If you toss them to early they will stop absorbing the marinade and begin to steam. Who knew? Apparently Mario Batali was harboring this secret. Before tossing I added in a couple tablespoons of butter and let the mushrooms work their magic.

Pot 1: pork-chops, bottle of Brooklyn Lager, and a mixture of spices. (Not sure what Camille put in... I was watching my mushrooms).

Cookie sheet 1: unbaked crescent rolls unrolled. Cream cheese spread on dough then topped with bacon bits. Rolled up and placed in the oven.

Pan 2: Pork-chops put in skillet along with some marinade goodness, which created a delicious dipping sauce for the meat and mushrooms... and well, the bread to.

Cookie sheet 1... reused: fresh baked baguette sliced into about 3/4 inch thick pieces. After rubbing in a little olive oil to the top, I added fresh chopped sage and then sprinkled with freshly grated fontina cheese. Put in the oven for a couple minutes, just to let the cheese melt.

Pan 1 + Pot 1 + Cookie Sheet 1 (2x) + Pan 2 = an amateur gourmet dinner for three.

Are you hungry yet? Sorry, there were no leftovers to be found. Here are the pictures from the first WCWW! Stay tuned to see what we mix up next week.

sent to print. published and ready to read.

Two shouts to completion! So exciting to see a project come together beginning to end. In July I was hired by Writopia Lab to put together three anthologies. Each included a collection of short stories, memoirs and poems from kids of all ages. Editing stories, double checking the spelling, designing and fitting in ads as well as copyright info, a table of contents and a list of awards that more than 50% of the writers received was without a doubt a challenge, but an enjoyable one. It takes many people to make a book come together and ready for print, and I want to say thank you to everyone that helped me edit stories, proofread and make these books become complete.

Let's wait and see, maybe there is more book designing in the future. I can't say it enough, I do love print design.

calling all recipes

I'm in a bit of a cooking slump. I feel like I have been cooking the same things over and over and I want to try something new. Some of my usuals are grilled fish, anything with mushrooms, turkey tacos, and turkey sandwiches. I am in need of some new ideas. I have a small toaster oven but I'm not very good at using it... I have a microwave and two burners. I really enjoy cooking and trying recipes. If you have any ideas or old favorites that I should try, please send my way. Preferable requirements include a ten dollar budget and easy to make smaller serving sizes.

OKAY! GO!

Oh yeah, don't worry, there isn't really anything I don't like, so give me your best recipes!

i finally made it back

After rescheduling my flight back to New York, to then having to de-board a plane and rebook my flight to the next day, I finally made it back to my apartment in the sky. While I was going through my outrageously high stack of mail, mostly credit card applications that I just ripped up, I thought of the crazy "vacation" I just took. A few things included attending great friends' wedding, BBQ-ing with the family, seeing my best friend have a baby, and going to an SEC football game. Basically, a lot happened in a short period of time, but i am very glad I got to be at many memorable events.

Let's start by welcoming Rachel and Drew Roger's son, Rhett Samuel, into the world. He is perfect. Born 8 pounds 7 ounces, and 21 inches.

Rhett with his Momma Rachel

Daddy Drew and Rhett

The welcoming party (minus mom, Olivia and Paula, who aren't in the picture)

Three friends since the beginning: a proud mom and two very adoring aunts.

Me with Rhett at only 43 minutes old.

Rachel, Rhett, and great-grandfather Chief, who would like to now be called, "Master Chief."

Two good friends. Grandmother Noni and mom with baby Rhett.

Aunt Olivia

Now onto the Bennett wedding in Kansas City.

Elise and JJ Bennett cutting the cake.

The beautiful bride and I

Kaci, me, Lauren and Katie on the dance floor

At the Razorback game.

Betsy, mom and Debbie: Kissin' cousins - 1st generation

Grace, Mickey and I: Kissin' cousins, 2nd generation