Monday, December 30, 2013

thanksgiving 2013

my efforts to sleep are proving to be futile as im up an hour after since my last post. i got to scrolling through my photos & noticed most of my home cooking photos are absent. i had hoped to catch up my blog with my cooking adventures but alas those photos are long gone. i made the terrible mistake of switching out of an iphone after the hubs accidentally placed my phone in the washer. thought it might be time to switch to a phone with a bigger screen for my korean dramas. lesson learned to never switch out of the intuitive smartness & simplicity of an iphone for customizable features (i hardly used them). i came across several problems with my samsung S4 after having had it only for only 4 months. i switched back. 

while aimlessly scrolling through my photos i came across thanksgiving pictures. my contribution this year was a cambodian noodle dish i learned from a friends sister. i had it at their family party & couldn't enough of it. it was my second time making it & it proved to be a success based on opinions at our thanksgiving gathering. 

i started by soaking peppers in water to soften them for the dressing. it looks like it may cause high levels of spiciness but on the contrary it only adds flavor. those who weren't fond of spicy foods couldn't detect it, so it was safe for all to eat.


 i transported the different elements of my crispy noodle cambodian salad separately so that it remained crunchy until it was ready for serving. 


arrived & everyone had a huge feast! so very thankful to be able to eat an abundance good food with good people! we feasted on the traditional turkey, honeybaked ham, cranberry sauce, pancit, lumpia, & crabs to name a few of the deliciousness that lay before my eyes. a filipino/american menu is always a winner in my book during the holidays! 


2014 cooking goals

as the hubby & i lay in bed at 4:46(am), attempting to fight off another day of jet lag we got to thinking about what we'll eat tomorrow. we agreed a trip to the grocery store is definitely a must since we haven't been home in almost a month..which got me thinking about cooking goals for 2014. id like to perfect & knock off a few recipes from my list. some are:

1) a delicious crisp pavlova 
2) tender irish corn beef & cabbage 
3) an aesthetically pleasing charcuterie that is full of taste & different textures
4) momofuku inspired compost cookie
5) learning 5-10 different tapas
6) spicy thai pork laab
7) pot roast 
8) chicken piccata sauce (many tries later & i still can't strike the right balance)
9) turkey chili 
10) bbq rib eye 

new life

has it really been 4 months since i last updated? so this happened during my brief hiatus & it's been amazing!
 it still seems surreal that i'm his wife & i have a husband. i feel incredibly blessed & overwhelmingly happy everyday.