a tiny light in the darkness
I don’t want to jinx anything, but I may be ascending from the depression. At least slightly. At least, I made a craft project and have cooked a couple of good meals. I am putting in some effort!
Let’s do this in chronological order, shall we?
Valentine’s Day marked mine and Sparks’ 13th dating anniversary. I know we have a wedding anniversary, and we celebrate that too, but we still celebrate the first anniversary. I decided that I wanted to make scallops for dinner. Fresh Market complied by having some gorgeous sea scallops. I seared those and made a beurre blanc. I sort of lazied out on the beurre blanc though and didn’t strain it. We both like shallots though, so I didn’t see it being a big deal. And it wasn’t. I also roasted some asparagus and made a quick couscous. At least this time I didn’t brown the butter while making the sauce. While I was making dinner, Sparks cleaned off the end of the table so that we could eat at the table “like fucking adults” (my words, not his). The beurre blanc was so good that I just ladled it over the whole plate. It’s good with seafood, it’s good with asparagus, and couscous always benefits from a sauce. Scrumptious! Followed it up with tiramisu from the bakery counter of Fresh Market. I love Fresh Market!
Then, while the table was still mostly cleaned off, I decided to finally start on the quilt I’d been wanting to work on for a while. My cousin was about to become a grandma! If she wasn’t already older than me, this would seal the deal. It’s been a while since I was excited about a craft project, but cousin’s daughter is a barrel racing cowgirl and was about to have a little cowgirl of her own. I wanted to do a cowgirl themed quilt. I found some fabric on Etsy that fit the bill. So, this past weekend, I threw together a Trip Around The World quilt. Here’s the photos over on instagram! I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. I dropped it at the post office on Tuesday and it arrived right after baby girl did!
I moved the sewing machine and stuff so that we could eat at the table like adults again. Last night, I was feeling steaks. That always means another trip to Fresh Market, their butcher counter is lovely! I got a couple of chateaubriand cut filet mignons. Filet is my steak of choice, I won’t eat fat and get grossed out if any of it touches my tongue, so I just avoid it as much as possible by doing filet. I cook them simply, just sear both sides and slide them in the oven with a meat thermometer. It seems that if I cook them to 135, they carry over just enough to be a good medium. That would gross out my mom (she likes hers well done) but it’s perfect for Sparks and me. While the steaks were in the oven, I made balsamic mushrooms. I’ll copy the recipe below, I definitely don’t want to lose this one like I have some others on the intarwebs. And kismet! TFM had organic baby bellas for $1 a package! While the steaks were resting, I made a cognac cream sauce to go over them. It was good, but made way too much. I think next time I’ll just add enough cream to the pan to make sauce, not the whole carton. It also wouldn’t take as long to cook down that way. Add to all this a couple of bakers with butter and sour cream. The steaks were so good that Sparks threatened to weep. *laughs* No fancy dessert this time, but we had some Entemann’s chocolate doughnuts in the kitchen.
I woke up this morning excited to come update my blog. Maybe I’m not dead, after all.
Balsamic Mushrooms and Onions
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound white button mushrooms halved
1 onion sliced
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Instructions
– In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and onion; sprinkle with salt and stir to combine.
– Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook until liquid is released from mushrooms, about 5 – 7 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms and onions are softened and browned, about 3 -5 minutes.
– Add balsamic vinegar and stir until mushrooms and onions are coated evenly and the vinegar is heated through.