The new "to do" list

Some might remember this letter tray from an earlier post...

What was originally just a nice display has now developed into a sort of to do list. It's where I put lost buttons in need of re-sewing, charms I mean to do something with or photos I want to remember to admire on a daily basis. Basically I'm thinking I'll put anything small up here, that needs remembering and over time it'll become a little library of "thoughts."

Instead of having to find a suitable mismatched button, I'll know right where I put the matching one! This will also save me the trouble of configuring a back up outfit when I can't think of anything but the skirt in need of mending. Have I ever mentioned that virtually ALL of my mending occurs three minutes before I'm supposed to walk out the door?? Yeah. There I am, sporting half an outfit, frantically sewing on the end of my bed, when I could just throw on pair of jeans and tee shirt like a normal person.

But back to the tray... I'm always really interested in clutter. I certainly don't like messes, but there's something to the little chatchkas we humans collect. Every home seems to have some, whether its refrigerator magnets, tiny toys, rocks & shells, or even "real art." Imagine.

I'm also really interested in people's inability to deal with their clutter. In other words, organization, or lack thereof. In my world, what might look like a simple pile, actually has a lot of rhyme and reason to it. I think this is the difference between a mess and a display, the intention. I love the idea of turning a bad habit, or organizing weakness, into display. My idea for someone who is always throwing clothes on the floor, is to throw them on the wall instead. Install a grid of hooks, or even just long nails, and stuff your clothes up there instead. Sure it'll look like a pot of spaghetti clothes... but you'll have room to walk, you won't have to take the precious time to put them away and over time, it might end up looking kinda cool up there.

So here are all the thoughts so far in my tray:

This stack of British coins looked so beautiful against the dark wood, I just want to regularly admire it. I love the detailed edges... how come our coins aren't as cool?? Also, I might want to design something based off of these patterns.

These sparkly buttons need to be re-attached to this coat.

A squid and my handsome Grandpa in his navy uniform!! I miss you!

A map box I need to find a new chain for and scented green tea oil to liven up my draw papers!

A little lost tree bird checking things out, a broken pin that needs fixing or a new life and green thread that is just pretty.

Two charms that need chains and a "G" typewriter key for the pair of initial cuff links I owe my friend Garth.

Almond Chicken

He picked me up at Port Authority and went with me all the way to Brooklyn, my new home. I had moved just one month ago, in January, but was getting back from a quick trip home to visit or maybe do some dance thing. Moving to NY was a big shift from small town Maine and I was thrilled to have him there, even if it was only for a few weeks. I clung to his company during this transition to new life. My new, urban, what-am-I-going-to-do, life.

Once in Brooklyn I did the usual: popped off the train, asked what he might like for dinner and went shopping for supplies. I don't remember him having had any preference of what we should eat, so needless to say, Almond Chicken was my decision. It also happened to be the one 'new' recipe I was kind of good at. I ripped it out of my Martha Stewart magazine to bring with me before the move. Being just out of college, any type of cooking was pretty darn impressive and my mind was set to knock his socks off- either with the outfit I put on after my shower or me cooking in it, whichever affected him first. Typically he could barely contain himself, jumping the gun before any key could unlock a door, but not this time. I guess that should have been a warning.

Quietly he sat while dinner was prepared, enjoyed and cleaned up after. Thankfully, before I started throwing myself at him, he launched into his speech, the speech he had obviously been trying to not get to all evening. Yeah, he dumped me. I'll spare you the details but let me stress- if you're going to break up with a girl, please be kind and do it before you spoil one of her favorite recipes!

Tonight, many years later, I gave it another shot and found it's still a great recipe. A favorite, even. Am I healed? Well, writing this story might prove something, but I'll leave it to the reader to decide.

Almond Chicken
from Martha Stewart Living magazine with my words in parenthesis

1/4 cup bread crumbs (mixed with coarse salt and pepper if you want)
2 lg eggs
2 tsps water (I forgot this oops)
2 boneless,skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
2 tbls unsalted butter
2 tbls canola oil (definitely use canola... I tried olive oil and it burned too quickly!)

(If your frying pan is not fit for the oven... like if it has a plastic handle or something, make up a baking pan with a bit of oil an butter in it also. You can transfer the chicken to it in order to bake in the oven. This is what I do and will always do. That is, until someone awesome chooses the new pots and pans for me off my future wedding registry...)

Preheat oven to 400. Place breadcrumb mixture in a bowl (plate.) (Place almonds on another plate.) Crack eggs into a bowl (big enough for the chickens!!) and beat lightly. Dip chicken first in egg, scraping off any extra with your hands (duh) then dip in bread crumbs. Dip chicken again in egg and then coat with almonds.

Heat oil and butter in skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until nicely browned, about three minutes, and turn over. Cook one minute more then transfer to oven. bake until chicken is cooked through, about 10 more minutes. (I usually go a bit longer than that.)

Tonight I completed my meal with mashed potatoes, orange cranberry sauce and a watercress, bacon & blue cheese salad. Yum.

Giving Thanks

It all began on Wednesday when the turkey plopped in the brine:

  • 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
  • 1 Onion cut into large chunks
  • 6-8 Bay leaves
  • Sprigs of rosemary, thyme & sage
  • 10 black pepper corns
  • 1tsp or so of Mustard Seeds
  • 2-4 cloves of garlic ( I meant to put this, but forgot!
  • 24 cups cold water
Combine the salt, onion and spices in a saucepan with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil. Let cool. Basically, you're going to take the brine and mix it with the remaining water. I didn't want to pour hot liquid on my un-cooked turkey, so I filled my brining bag with half of the water first. Then I poured a little of the salt mixture into a measuring cup and filled the rest with cold water to temper it. I repeated that until all the salt mixture had been used and the Turkey was covered in water. (I don't think a little more or less water is that big of a deal here.) Then he just sat in the refrigerator until 11pm when I turned him over. I took him out to warm up at ten, prepared him for the oven with butter and herbs, and popped him in around 11:30.

Friend arrived early to help, watch A Christmas Story and keep each other company until the food was ready. Garth made an amazing trifecta of mashed potatoes: garlic mash, fennel mash & rutabaga & carrot mash.

I swear this photo is taken every year!

Team Brussel

During the cooking we decided we should take Thanksgiving Portraits. I think we really only got Garth & Niegel:


At one point I turned around to find my official Thanksgiving decorating committee raiding my room to make a beautiful display for the food. For some reason we always drag my dresser out to act as a kind of buffet. It looks quite charming with food all over it, I have to say, but I try not to imagine my socks and unders though! Kj & Niegel realy went to town with my trees, candles and even an old empty picture frame. (Check out the FLickr Set for more photos!)
Then came the FOOD!
  • Herb Roasted Turkey
  • Brussel Sprouts with Lemon & Walnuts
  • Roasted Cauliflower
  • Pumpkin Gratin
  • Pomegranate Carrots
  • Cranberry Sauce
  • Sweet Potato Pie
  • Mac & Cheese
  • Garlic Mash
  • Fennel Mash
  • Rutabaga & Mash
  • Stuffing
  • Buttermilk Biscuits
  • Gravy
  • Apple Pie
We ate and ate bits of everything with my new favorite beverage, Pear Cider! Our tums got so full! We played games and then ate some more! Three plates?

This years experiment: pomegranate carrots. First I cooked the bigger guys in a bit of butter. Then I added the baby ones and let them cook a bit. Then I added freshly made pomegranate juice made by tossing the seeds in my food processor and straining. I let this cook, then added some stock and brown sugar. It thickened a bit, but tried adding a little flour/butter mix to make the sauce more gravy like. I think next time I'll skip the flour adding. The dish was a savory alternative to candied carrots. Not my favorite, but a general thumbs up was given.

The next day was a riot. Everyone showed up again to lounge and work together eating left overs. Here we all are each on a computer. We spent a lot of time playing online scrabble! I think it's about 3pm here and I'm still in my nightgown!

We finished up our Brooklyn Thanksgiving with a rooftop photo shoot.