Thanksgiving Prep Kitchen

Thanksgiving's just a few days away and I'm cooking for twelve this year.  I can't wait!  I love a holiday that's in no way commercial -- just all about food and friends and gathering.  The bird gets picked up Tuesday but it's Sunday today, it's cold and damp and chilly, so it's the perfect day to continue my make-ahead gravy experiment.

Let's backtrack for a sec to Friday night, which I'd name, "Make-Ahead Gravy Part One."  The first thing I did on Friday night was throw 2 turkey wings, 3 drumsticks and 2 thighs in my roasting pan with chunked-up onions and a little olive oil basted on the skins and onions.  I put 'em in there for about an hour and 15 min until they browned.

While these were roasting, I cut up lots of carrots and celery, and threw them in my large stockpot with two boxes of organic chicken broth.

 I added fresh thyme, a few shakes of herbes de provence, some kosher salt and whole peppercorns, and set it to simmer.

When the meat was done roasting, into the large stockpot it went, where it continued to simmer for a few hours.  Probably about 4 hours....and then it was getting late, and I was getting tired, so I let the pot cool for a bit, and strained all the meat, veggies and herbs into 2 containers.

I stored the liquid in a large bowl and put that into the fridge for the fat to separate overnight.

Now we can fast forward to Sunday.  Why not Saturday?  Because Saturday was spent in the car running errands all over Austin with the entire family, and Saturday night was Date Night with the Mister.  And nothing, I repeat nothing, comes between me and Date Night!  Hello babysitter, goodbye gravy.

So, Sunday.  I pulled out the containers of meat and separated everything.  This is my least favorite part of the process--it takes a while and you really become one with the turkey.  It's kind of a labor of love and by the last drumstick, I was officially turkey'd out.  

I took all the meat and set it aside.  (It would actually become dinner for Sunday night later on.)  Back to the gravy.  I skimmed all the congealed fat (ew) off the top of the gravy, and set it aside.  I took the remaining broth that resembled jello and poured it into a large saucepan on the stovetop.  I had about 8 cups of extremely rich and delicious turkey stock.

From the fat renderings, I added flour and whisked vigorously to avoid lumps.  I cooked the fat in a small saucepan for several minutes until it reached a nice golden-brown color.  Here's the fat roux:

I then gradually added this to my large saucepan of turkey stock, whisking quickly and consistently again, until the gravy was looking just right.  The gravy in reality looks a little darker than this, but you get the idea. 

On Thanksgiving Day, I'll take some of the rich turkey drippings that have been roasting for hours and add them to my gravy.  But even if there were no drippings, it wouldn't matter--this gravy tastes amazing!

I had an extra cup of gravy after storing in an airtight container, so I made a quick casserole with it for dinner using the de-boned turkey meat.  It was devoured.  So, my make-ahead turkey gravy experiment could be ruled a success.  :)

It's Annual Sale Time!

It's that time of year again!  Shop 20% OFF all jewelry items at Hampton Jewels (quantity bridesmaid orders excluded) with code HOLIDAY13.  This sale ends in about a week, so do take advantage of the savings soon!  Clicking "Shop" on my blog header will take you directly into my Etsy shop.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie

So I know I've seen her blog in the past, but I must have forgotten about it.  I reacquainted myself with the Pioneer Woman's awesome existence this week.

I think what got me started was seeing her on The Food Network, hosting a 30-minute-meal episode or something along those lines.  After the show I looked for her blog and after an hour of skimming through fun content, came across this gem

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/08/pot-pie/

One thing I'm sure of in life: my love for chicken pot pie.  Do my kids share the same love?  No.  Did I care? Not really.  I was going to make this pie for dinner.  And people were going to eat it.  And that was that.

Luckily for me, I'd slow cooked a whole chicken a couple days prior, and had lots of delicious shredded chicken to use for this dish.

Here are some pics from the process.  And to my total delight, the kids LOVED it.  Loved, as in, asked for demanded seconds!!  A winner!

The pot pie filling, simmering in buttery heaven on the stovetop.

Pour filling into 2 quart baking dish.  Add pie crust to top of filling...I used a basic store-bought rolled pie crust.  Next time I'd make my own.   Brush with egg whites.

Place on a jelly roll pan to catch any overflows :)

The finished chicken pot pie, cooling off.

Dinner is served!

Texas-sized Sunrise

Take a look at this gorgeous sunrise!  The big kids and I admired it as I got breakfast going today.  This is probably the only benefit I can think of as far as getting up before sunrise (grumble grumble) goes.  But WOW was this morning's sky beautiful!!  A great way to begin a Friday.

Sunday Night Dinner

It's November 3rd, and it's 68 degrees outside at 6:30 pm in Austin.  Julianne and Joe are outside cooking dinner.  I think it's in the 40's back in New York.  Life is good!

Halloween Fun

Some pictures from our first Halloween in Texas.  What a delight to trick-or-treat in 70 degree evening weather!  No heavy coats over the costumes THIS year!

Things are looking up!

Yesterday wasn't as awesome as the other days that Joe has been away, from the family management perspective: James threw a fit or 2, Tommy had a crying episode when I asked him to re-write his sentences over and over due to poor spacing and penmanship, etc.  But eventually things evened out, all the homework got done and they enjoyed Jimmy's Pizza for dinner, and I had a chicken caesar salad after everyone was tucked into bed.

I'm trying to think of what I did yesterday to continue my productivity goals around the house......well, laundry, certainly...it's *thisclose* to being done!  James was at Nana's for a while and...let me think...what did I do with my time?...oh yeah, I filled a custom bridesmaid order for 4 necklaces and 1 additional order for earrings.  It was snowing all morning but thankfully not adding to the 1/2" we had the night before.  Still, I hate bad-weather driving so I got my 3rd and last order finished while James napped, and after the kids got home, it was homework, post office, pizzeria, Julianne to religion, home to eat, back to get Julianne.

After dinner the kids hurried into their jammies for Annie: Part II.  They loved it, of course, and there were tears at the end when Annie was hanging from the bridge, and cheers shortly thereafter when Punjab comes to her rescue.  And a sense of relief to see all the orphans singing and dancing in pretty dresses at the big firework finale.  :D

The best part of my day, though, was getting Facetimed by Joe around 10 pm.  He'd tried to catch me earlier but with all the running around it was tough.  I figured we were just touching base.  After the usual how-was-your-day-dear small talk, he told me the News of All News: the Austin company he'd been speaking with had, in fact, extended a job offer to him today!  Officially, via email!  I think a few negotiations are ahead, but so far so good.  Things are really becoming...real.

Happy Monday

Today was another (though slightly less) productive day...once homework time enters the picture, all bets are off for getting stuff done!

-I did 2 loads of wash and folded/kids put away 1 load;
-James went to school so I colored my hair
-I packed and shipped a bead order
-I cleaned out the mirror vanity on the 1st floor bathroom, getting rid of old medicines and lotions that I will never use
-Read James "The Little Engine That Could" (you could hear a pin drop)
-Made a great dinner for the kids and me
-Hosted Family Movie Night (part 1 of Annie, kids loved it!!)

Here's a pic of the kids watching Annie:

Joni is visiting us on Thursday until Friday, so on Wednesday I'll switch gears and prep for her arrival.

James decided to be Spider-Man today for a while, so I helped him into his last year's Halloween costume and let him go to town.  We had a little photo shoot.  Gotta love those bulging muscles.  Too cute!

(Not so) Lazy Sunday

A fairly lazy Sunday here.  Woke to find about an inch of snow on the ground -- not too bad, but enough to get me outside and shoveling.  Everyone was up and dressed and fed by 9, and then out we went.  The kids had fun and were warm and dry in their new ski gloves/mittens.  I was happy and relieved to find the snow was very powdery and easy to shovel.  I got the driveway cleared about 90% and the sun took care of the rest.  Yay!  I didn't break my neck and fall down the driveway this time around, and I won't be trapped in the tower today.

Speaking of today...today I'm continuing my housekeeping goals and so far have:

-Folded and put away (okay, the kids put away) 2 loads of laundry
-Organized all my window candles that were thrown in a box, and re-packed them.  I'm leaving my lights in the front windows for another week or two.  Especially with Joe away, I find the light comforting.  

-Took the Sunday night trash out
-Put one of the crib mattresses (the old one) on the curb
-Put the Toy Story hot wheel toy on the curb...it's been unassembled in the box for a year.  Time to go.
-Assembled another box of donations for Goodwill.
-Cleared out top shelf in kitchen coat closet (goodbye, junk!)
-Cleared out wicker basket on kitchen sideboard (goodbye, junk!)
-Returned the books on ghosts to Jane's mailbox (finally!)

I also supervised the big kids' reading for 35 minutes today while I folded laundry.  And had the kids write their classmates' names on the Valentines they'll hand out in 2 wks.

I love getting a jump start on menial stuff.  I rarely do, so this felt like a successful day.  

I'm thinking of packing up a lot of the crystal in the china cabinet this week.  What's it really doing, other than collecting dust?  If we move, that piece is getting sold on Craigslist, along with the dining room table and chairs.  Both served their purpose, but I'm not attached to either in the least bit.

And, I made the kids a great dinner of meatloaf, egg noodles and green beans.

Last bit of news for today: Joni called and said she had an Amtrak ticket she needs to use before March, and would this be a good week to visit?  Not finding any reason why it wouldn't be a good week to visit, I said sure and that I'd call later tonight to narrow down a day.  Around here, there's no such thing as a slow week.  If you think it's going to be one, wait an hour or two and see how fast the schedule fills up.  :)

Happy Groundhog Day!

Okay, I said I was going to keep track of my progress while Joe was away on business.

Today, I:
-washed and folded 2 loads of laundry
-taught my kids about Groundhog Day (woo hoo!  Punxsatawny Phil didn't see his shadow this morning!)
-took everyone out to go to the bank, post office, and 7-11 for milk and lottery tickets
-showered the big kids before dinner
-took the 4 of us to meet my parents at a Chinese restaurant for dinner
-got everyone in bed by 8
-finished a custom necklace for a client
-got myself to bed by 11:30

Today was a pretty great day and there were minimal meltdowns from James.  Everyone was pretty even-keeled (myself included).  Julianne made this very cute sign for Joe which we posted on Facebook.

 Another highlight was the mai tai at dinner.  I wish I could've had 2 but I was driving.  And seeing the snow fall around 10 pm was lovely, too.  It was a sugary snow; very glittery.  Hopefully we're not in for a big amount.

Can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings.

Adios amigo

Joe just set sail (okay, the car picked him up for the airport) for Bangalore, India.  My mom thinks he's going to Bangladesh.  We had a good laugh over that one.  Looking for one last evening of sanity, we went to Northport Village last night and ate at Benkei, a great little Japanese spot.  A bit lacking in ambience but the sushi is very good, I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.  We were able to speak freely without kids up the wazoo, and it was a solid conversation about the job prospect in Austin.  I really wanted to get more discussion under our belt before Joe left for seven days.  I'm so glad we did, I think talking speaking out loud and not just internally really helped Joe work through his likes and concerns.  I'm trying not to come across as too eager but it's hard.  I think this could be a great opportunity and I know, I know -- once I'm set on doing something, there's no turning me back.  This would be a massive change to everything we know and I'm trying to check myself.  I really am!!

When we got home last night at 10:15 we heard footsteps running from our room to the bathroom or something.  Fully expecting Julianne to be the one awake, instead we found Shorty (James) looking like he was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar!  It was very funny and very cute and I had to hide my amusement.  After a lengthy bathroom visit we got him settled for the 3rd time and Joe followed up with his Austin connection.  They spoke for a while and it went as I'd hoped.  We are now one step closer to Austin.

I know that if we move, there will be major adjustments ahead for all of us.  I know that I will probably be the one who has the biggest adjustment ahead, I just have a feeling.  But I also think the pro's outweigh the cons in this case.  And who isn't up for an adventure?  Life isn't always written in stone.  If we don't like it in 5 years, we come back.

Hello, clean refrigerator!

Ahem, just a quick post to announce how AWESOME I feel after cleaning out the top of my refrigerator.  I'd been ignoring sticky, crumby shelves for weeks, I am sorry to say.  Finally this afternoon I decided that was it.  Peapod grocery delivery service was coming soon, the fridge was fairly empty for once, so I carpe diem-ed it and got it done.  A disinfecting with Lysol wipes and then a Windex follow-up.  Voila!  Shiny, clean fridge that smells good too.

Here's a pic.  Yes, I'm a dork.  But see how she gleams!  lol

Thursday follow-up

Wednesday night brought news after all.  Now Joe needs to decide the path he'd like his career to take, and if that road leads us to Austin.  Lots to think about, lots to research.  Lots to TALK about, and he's getting on a plane for Bangalore, India in two days.  Seven days of me holding down the fort.  I can do this, right?  I'm going to list out all the things I want to accomplish in his absence.  That list is coming tomorrow.
Stay tuned!

Please please please let me get what I want

Okay, so it's a song by The Smiths.  But it's also how I'm feeling this week as we wait for an update to The Conversation had on Monday.  After this winter, this lifestyle, I'm just about ready to pack my bags.  Hell, I'm ready to pack everybody's bag and head South.  Joe's a very bright, very ambitious people-pleasing employee who gives 200% every day.  What's to debate?  Just give us an answer already!! Because I've eaten wayyyy too many bad snacks today, as waiting is not one of my strengths.  Impatience is one of my biggest obstacles.  Sigh.

There's also a major wind and rain storm coming tonight.  Time to batten down the hatches and hopefully not lose power.  Fingers crossed.

Weekend in Pictures

Busy weekend full of nothing majorly exciting.  Freezing cold on Friday with slushy icy snow, James and I didn't venture far and he opted for fireman dress-up most of the day.  :)

I made a great big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner.  Perfect for a chilly night!

Then we stayed in and enjoyed a cocktail or 2 in the living room after the kids went to bed. On Saturday the kids went out to play in the inch of snow that we had, and Joe and I got a babysitter and went out for a nice dinner.

On Sunday the kids were scratching at the walls and the TV was becoming nonstop, so we bundled 'em up and threw 'em out!  Well, a good airing out does everyone good.  Joe joined them for some winter football throwing...

...and tried to teach Tommy "the Tebow" before we headed out on errands.  We all had a chuckle.

Julianne, on the other hand, had found a tiny patch of ice on the driveway, and was attempting to ice skate. Mm hmm.

Sunday we did a lot of cleaning up the storage room in our basement, full of boxes that haven't been opened for the past two moves.  It was time!  We unearthed some treasures and basically cleared out twelve moving boxes.  Hooray!  The evening ended with the kids' favorite "Breakfast for Dinner" themed supper

and a little before-bed storybook reading.  Good night!

Another freezing day

What a week!  It's been in the TEENS this week, with wind chills making it feel like it's in the single digits!  Wishing I were on a tropical beach somewhere.  With every passing year, my tolerance of winter gets smaller and smaller.  Pretty soon I'm going to have to high-tail it outta here!  Waiting on the bus stop at dusk (4 pm) in November and December, while the cold wind whips right through you, is depressing.  My hands are so dry they look like they belong to a 66 year old, not a 36 year old.  And I keep wearing the same turtleneck sweaters over and over because they're the only things that keep me warm.  Okay, I'll stop complaining now.  God knows I have so much to be grateful for, I really and truly do.  But there's something about this weather.........grrrrrrrrrr.  And schlepping 3 kids around in the freezing cold for various things is really.......okay, okay.  No more complaining.  Going to picture that tropical beach now.  :)

S is for Signs

The older I get, the more I notice signs.  You know when you're thinking of something and then BAM!, you see a picture of it somewhere?  Or you hear a word several times in various settings that you've just been thinking of?  Or a person?  That.  And so on.

Here's my sign situation.  Joe and I went down to Austin, TX at the beginning of the month to see friends and check things out.  Scout around, if you will.  Why?  Because there's a huge tech presence in and around Austin, and we're not ruling a relocation as out of the realm of possibility someday.  No plans as of yet.  A bit of hopefulness.  But I wanted to see what the city and suburbs were all about, so that I could nix the possibility, or perhaps embrace it.  More on that later.

Fast forward to this past weekend, which was the long MLK weekend.  My Etsy shop had been experiencing a dry spell for a few days.  Always frustrating when it happens, and exciting when a new sale finally comes in.  The customer who broke my dry spell on Friday night?  A woman from Austin, Texas.  The weekend proceeded to be full of various family activities (bunk bed assembly, anyone?).  On Sunday we took a ride to Pottery Barn Outlet in search of some nice bedding for the boys' new bunk bed.  We pulled into the quiet back parking lot, where there were a hundred spaces but just a few cars.  No one around us.  When we'd finished shopping and returned to our car, guess what was parked next to us?  A car with Texas plates.

On the drive home from the outlet, we passed a cluster of signs on the highway from November's elections that shouted, "Re-Elect AUSTIN!"

Not only did these things happen in 3, they really got us thinking.  Maybe the universe does have plans for us.

Oh--one final sign.  This one was an actual one from our trip to Austin earlier this month that I snapped as Joe was driving thru the hill country.  We don't see these types of signs in New York!  Haha

Goodbye, Baby Crib

I remember how excited I was when Joe and I drove to Boston Baby to look at furnishings for our soon-to-be nursery.  We picked out a beautiful white wood sleigh crib and a matching changing table with beadboard accents.  Perfect for a little boy or girl (in our case, girl!).  Three months later they arrived and with the addition of paint and bedding, the room was complete.  Two more children later, we'd enjoyed using the crib for three happy babies total.  We'd splurged on the best, and certainly gotten our money's worth.

But, Saturday night, the crib ended up disassembled on the curb.  We felt it was time for our youngest child to make the transition from crib to bed, and at the end of the summer, we purchased a bunk bed.  Which, until this past weekend, remained boxed and unassembled in our garage.  Finally on Saturday evening, we just decided it was time.  Time for the almost 3-and-a-half year old to transition to a big boy bed, and time for that same little boy to get rid of his binky.  So, over the course of 5 hours, up went the bunk bed, off went Joe to Sleepy's for a twin sized mattress, and down went Tommy's beautiful red bed and James' white crib.  And because of new rules stating that drop-side cribs are no longer legal, we knew that we couldn't donate or sell our beautiful crib.  The only place it would go, the only place it could go, was on the curb at 11 o'clock at night.

Taking it out of the house and putting it out for the garbage truck was almost heartbreaking.  Memories of winter 2004 came back, as we started to plan what life would be like as a family of three instead of two free-wheeling newlyweds.

Here is a picture from Saturday night.  For some reason I had to take my camera out to the street and take a photograph.  Sometimes I have a hard time with change and letting things go.  Photos help me transition, I think.  I feel like if I can go back in time and see something again, I can deal with it a little better.  

Anyway...new year, new changes...right?

TGIF

It's January in New York, so it's cold. Duh. But today feels extra cold and I'm in my studio while the littlest is in nursery school. And I'm shivering, so I'm wearing a turtleneck sweater with a tank top underneath, a big chunky knit cowl, and a hat! And the heat is set at 72, two degrees higher than usual. Heat is expensive and I try to max out at 70 for the sake of our bank account, but today it feels like it's 20 degrees outside. I'm trying to get some jewelry orders filled but I'm so bundled up that it's annoying to sit so close to the worktable and manipulate small tools in my cold hands. Guess I'll procrastinate and write!

 On the upside, the sun is finally out again. We had two (more?) weeks of darkness and rain up until today; finally the sun looks like it's not going anywhere for a while. Blue sky and all that. But, it's frigid!! So I asked Joe to stop at Uniqlo on the way home. There's a store on 34th St. by Penn Station. At Christmas, he brought me a long sleeve v-neck shirt that said "heattech" and man is it awesome!! I sleep in it, so I can't bring myself to wear it during the daytime.

 So that's where Joe comes in. Remember Speedy Delivery on Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood? The old guy on the bike? Well, Joe is neither old nor rides a bike, but he sure does hook me up with errands and late-night milk when we're out and takeout and now Uniqlo t-shirts on his way home from work. These things are $15 and are on sale now for $10 (!) and they keep you as warm and toasty as silk underwear that costs far more. And they are snug, super thin, you can wear them under anything! And long enough to fit over your hips. So, they're a winner in my book. The store on 34th is 64,000 square feet. Hopefully I'll get to check it out on one of my next trips into NYC. Here's a pic, in the meantime.

Click here to visit the Uniqlo website!

Welcome to my blog!

Yay! I'm finally up and running with my new blog. I'm hoping to write about marriage, kids, adventures, crafts, food, fun, whatever. I hope you'll join me for the ups, downs and everything in between as I travel down this road called life with a husband and three kids in tow.