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I ordered this Bloody Mary last weekend while overlooking a much iced-over North Shore. I'm not sure what prompted me to desire such a dressed-up drink... maybe the incongruity of being at the beach in these chilled winter months made me wish for something bright, cheery, flavorful, and reminiscent of summer days! At any rate, it was the fanciest bloody mary I'd ever received with not one but three olives, celery, lemon, limes, etc. Quite the party drink!
Here's a recipe that got completely out of control, but it ended up tasting OK, so I figured it qualified for a post! The stuffed ricotta was store-bought and pre-frozen, and I fell victim to either poorly written directions or a complete missed synapse, as I could've sworn they told me to place in a pot of boiling sauce and stir occasionally. However, having seen stuffed shells served before, I really should have realized the less-than-figurative hole in this plan... After I'd baked the meatballs and they were ready to be added, I realized the ricotta was dripping out of every crevice in the pasta. But it made for a cheesy, bisque-like sauce - not half bad! I'd probably still recommend going the traditional route, but everything here kept well for leftovers, and I hate to use the expression - but it all ends up down the hatch, no?
I am always astonished by the distractions my siblings come up with over the holidays. My sister always insists that we get through at least one favorite trilogy on DVD that we she doesn't have the stomach to watch alone. This year it was Lord of the Rings, fast-forwarding through the long-winded Golem parts (I love the master, I hate the master... grr). We spend lots of time trying to remember games from childhood and arguing over what we can play until there's no time to play the game at all. This time it was the magical griddle. Silver dollar pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches seemed to be on the burner around the clock, saturated with buttery goodness. On the day I headed home, we threw together a tuna salad mixture with all the leftover vegetables, nuts, and raisins from the holiday and tossed it on the griddle too, wrapped in thin slices of bread. And I served them on this great presentation platter (which, in my view, made the dish) from my friend Abby. It's so gratifying when food doubles as a work of art!
Here's another shot taken using the telephoto. My parents have been avid bird-watchers ever since they set up this feeder in the back yard, but this brings a whole new level of interest to the sport to me - now I can actually see what I'm looking at.
I became a bit of a naturalist while taking a few days off work the other week and took some fun shots of whatever visible critters were out and about from my safe vantage point behind the window and beside the fire. With this amazing telephoto lens, you don't need to stray far from your La-Z-Boy... and you get some great detail. It was fun chasing around the family with the telephoto too, but human models are slightly less forgiving about seeing their pores pop up later during a slide show. :)