No Good, Very Bad Day!

Yesterday was Sunday.

Kent and I got up early and got to church for choir practice at 8 AM. It was quite cold outside ... and just as cold inside.

After 4 hours of cold hands, cold feet, and cold noses we left church only to find our car with a flat tire. So there we stood outside for another 30 minutes while poor Kenty had to change the tire in his church clothes on the side of the leaf/snow scattered curb.

After we got the donut on the car, we FINALLY went home to our warm apartment. My feet were still blocks of ice, so I started making some soup in hopes of warming up.

After chopping the onions, celery and carrots I started on the potatoes, and SLIP -- cut the tip of my thumb off in the process. Took the end quarter of my nail with it. While bleeding, the veggies sauteeing burned to a crisp and Kenty once again had to save the day. He got me a tissue for my bleeding finger, sat me down on the couch, and set to work scrubbing the bottom of that burned pan, and re-chopping all the veggies.

So yes, it was a no good, very bad day. Lucky thing I had Kent there to save my bacon. :)

New Orleans - Day Two

Day Two

We woke up at the beautiful Ashton's Bed and Breakfast to herbed egg crepes with asparagus and crab sauce. Then we hopped into our rental SUV, and headed west for an hour until we came to Evergreen Plantation on Great River Road. Today was plantation day and it was fascinating!

This is the alley of trees that meets you as you drive up to Evergreen Plantation. Picturesque, no?


This is the back view of Evergreen. The plantation house was just one of many buildings directly on the lot. The outdoor buildings included the outhouse, bedrooms for the young males of the house, and the kitchen (kitchens were illegal to have inside the house due to fire concerns).


Kent and I standing on the front steps of Evergreen. We would be looking straight at the Mississippi River back when the Plantation was built (the levey was then 5 feet tall, but now you can't see the river because the levey has been raised to 20 feet tall). Plantations typically owned from the swamp clear up to the banks of the Mississippi River.


A cool feature of Evergreen is the row of original slave quarters. It was an alley of trees, much like the first photo, but with 2 columns of these slave cabins that went 22 rows back. After the emancipation of slaves, these cabins were used as homes for the fieldworkers, etc.


Second, and most impressive, plantation of the day was Oak Alley Plantation which became a landmark of sorts to those traveling the Mississippi River. This plantation was built by the wealthy plantation owner for his young bride from New Orleans who loved holding parties and was somewhat of a socialite (she later left him and moved back to New Orleans, and he died alone in this home. She inherited the plantation and ran it into the ground).


This is Oak Alley's 2nd floor verandah. They built these verandahs quite wide as they did most of their living here during the hot humid southern weather. Apparently here you could feel the cool breezes blow off the Mississippi River.


Here Kent is demonstrating the MASSIVE size of these Oak trees. The roots would grow above the ground because the trees were so massive.


The view of the Mississippi River as was seen from the inhabitants of Oak Alley.


The last plantation of the day was Laura Plantation. This home was painted many bright colors originally, which was what differentiated Creole plantations from others.


This photo shows another existing example of slave quarters typical of Lousiana Plantations. The main cash crop in Lousiana was sugar cane (as seen in background).


This plantation also boasted a banana tree patch (Bananas Foster anyone?)!


Here is silly sweet Kent just tickled pink to a) be wearing a bib, b) be wearing a bib in public, and c) to have a waiter put the bib on him.


For dinner this night, we went to Mr. B's Bistro. Kent got the Barbecued Shrimp (pictured here). We all know he got it not for the shrimp, but for the bib.


I had to include a photo of the dish that has most recently changed my culinary world. Pork with sweet potatoes and candied pecans! Oh, yum. I'll have to make it for you some time.

New Orleans Anniversary Trip - Day One

Kent and I had a LOT of fun on our 4 day excursion to New Orleans, LA. Here are some trip highlights, photo style:

Day One:
The first day, we went to the French Quarter and had dinner at Muriels.


Here's Kent's alligator. It tasted like fish with the consistency of chicken. We decided it was fun to try once, but we wouldn't bother in the future.


After dinner, we strolled around the French Quarter to see what there was to see. We ended up here, at Preservation Hall. It was an hour show with a fabulous jazz band. That was a highlight of the trip for sure!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary!

Today, October 22, 2009, is Kent and I's one year anniversary. It's been quite the ride, and I'm glad the ride has been with Kent.

Kent, thank you for blessing my life with your friendship, your genuine loving care and daily kindnesses. The little things you do for me every day mean more to me than you may know.


I love the cheesy grin on Kent's face in this picture. He was wearing that grin all day.



Sure, the photos LOOK warm but it was SO cold on our wedding day! It was warm the day before, and the day after, but a cold wind had come in and was blowing like ice. I had to put Kent's jacket on in between photos to stop from freezing.



Honestly, taking photos was my favorite part of the day. It was a time that Kent and I could just relax, enjoy beautiful temple square, and talk.

Sherry's Seared Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

OKay, my little sister is an AMAZING cook. Here is a recipe that she invented and is SOOO delicious!! Give it a try. I love it, and I don't even like mushrooms!!


Seared Chicken in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients
4-6 Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinnless
1 small onion or several shallots, diced
8 oz. package of mushrooms, washed and quartered
1 1/2 Tablespoons Butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1-2 Tablespoons flour, optional thickener
Water
Chicken Base
Fresh Parsley, optional
Dried Thyme
2 - 4 ounces Sour Cream
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Kosher Salt
Pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a hot, oven safe pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. When the fat in the pan is hot, carefully add the chicken to the pan and allow to sear for about 2 minutes or until the outside is golden brown. Flip the chicken and allow the other side to brown. While you are waiting for the chicken to brown, you can be chopping the onion and mushrooms.

After the chicken is brown on both sides, remove the chicken to a plate and add the onions and mushrooms to the hot pan, adding more butter and/or olive oil if the pan is dry. Lower the heat to about medium. Saute the onions and mushrooms until soft. If necessary, add more butter or olive oil and add the flour over the vegetables. Once the flour has cooked a little bit, add water to the pan. At this point, add about a quarter cup of water to the onions and mushrooms and using a wooden spoon, begin scraping the bottom of the pan. This will render the fond into the water. Once the pan is free of dark spots, add a little less than a tablespoon of chicken base to the water, onions, and mushrooms. At this point you can also add the herbs.

Add the chicken back into the pan and also the liquid that has accumulated on the plate. You may need to add some water here, but not much. The chicken will add a lot of liquid. Place the pan in the hot oven and allow to bake for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove the pan from the oven.

Remove the chicken from the pan, leaving the liquid, onions, and mushrooms. Add about a 1/4 to a 1/2 small container of sour cream about about 1/2 cup of cream. Stir until smooth. Taste the sauce and add any salt or pepper needed. When the sauce is done, add the chicken back into the pan, coating it with the sauce. Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan and allow to rest until it's served.

New Orleans, Here We Come!!

October 22 is our 1st wedding anniversary. As such, we are celebrating in style in ... NEW ORLEANS!! We are leaving on Friday, October 23 and getting back to town the evening of Monday, October 26.

We are both pretty darn excited. Neither of us have ever been there, and we just can't wait to have real southern food in a real southern town, and even go to a real southern plantation!

We are staying in Ashton's Bed and Breakfast, and boy does it look beautiful! .They didn't have one room available for all 3 nights, so we are staying in the French Quarter room for the first two nights, and moving to the Mardi Gras room for the last night .

We are planning on taking pictures of everything (including the food), so stay tuned!!!

Prairie Schooner Steakhouse

A few weeks ago, Kent and I went to the Prairie Schooner Steakhouse in Ogden with a few of my friends. We had SUCH a great time.

The atmosphere was very fun, and the steak was great! The next time I go, however, I'm going to get the sweet potato. I was pretty jealous seeing that on Kent's plate...

Oh look at all the cute cowboy hats!

Thanks for such a great time, folks and prairie polks!! :)