courtesy Jodi Miller Photograpy

Well, I got my wedding photos back (you prob already got a sneak peek if you’re my fb friend) and they’re pretty much better than I ever imagined they’d be.

Jodi Miller Photography does SUCH an amazing job (you can see my engagement photos by her here). Not to mention, Jodi and her husband Kurt are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. They send all the clients they work with the most thoughtful and beautiful care packages and are just so great to work with. Anyway, you can click here to see the highlights of the wedding that they posted on their blog. There are SOOOO many more amazing pictures but I obviously can’t post them all. She did a pretty good job summing up the important parts in her blog post…but I can share some more when I go into detail with my wedding craft projects sometime in the near future.

Also, if you missed it in my prior post, check out Nate’s seriously amazing video he made for the wedding :)

courtesy Jodi Miller Photography

I thought once the wedding was done that I’d have more time for blog posts…but now instead of wedding crafts and stressing over my dress, I’m busy with thank you note-writing, cleaning the apartment (which is a mess between honeymoon unpacking and tons of wedding gifts), and the usual other million to-dos.

Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

I do have a lot of recipes stored up though. Even though I haven’t found the time for blog posting, I’ve still been doing a decent amount of cooking. I made this recipe when we went down to my mother-in-law’s house. She always cooks dinner for us when we’re there, but I was kind of in the mood to make something, so I found this recipe and it’s definitely a winner. Hopefully you guys aren’t too sick of pumpkin yet (actually i used butternut squash).

Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

I know I’m late on the brown butter band-wagon, since it’s been all over the food blogger world for months now, but the sage brown butter on this is amazing. It’s nutty and rich. So rich that a small portion of this meal is seriously satisfying. In fact, I think I made myself sick eating it.

Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

Pan-Seared Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

Sightly adapted from Gourmet, October 2001

Print this recipe!

Serves 4

For risotto:
1 1/2 cups diced (1/4 inch) peeled seeded fresh pumpkin (preferably from sugar or cheese pumpkins) or butternut squash
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1 oz grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For scallops:
20 large sea scallops (1 1/2 lb), tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage
2 tablespoons white truffle oil (optional)

Cook diced pumpkin in a medium saucepan two-thirds full of simmering water until tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Bring stock and wine to a simmer in a small saucepan and keep at a bare simmer. Cook onion in oil in a 2- to 2 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup simmering stock and cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until stock is absorbed. Continue simmering, adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes total. (There may be broth left over.)

Remove from heat and stir in diced pumpkin, cheese, and butter, stirring until butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper and cover to keep warm.

Prepare scallops:

Pat scallops dry very well (especially if they were pre-frozen) and season with salt. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté scallops, turning once, until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. If scallops are not cooked through, reduce heat to moderate and cook about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and discard any oil remaining in skillet (do not clean skillet).

Cook butter in same skillet over moderate heat until it foams and turns light brown. Add sage and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in truffle oil if using. Season with salt.

 

Cheesy  Herb Breadsticks

Sorry I’m late in sharing recipes for Thanksgiving. Since you’ve probably already got your main meal covered (if you’re anything like my family, the menu is NOT ALLOWED to change from year to year. We like our traditions!), I thought I’d bring you some ideas for appetizers and drinks.

Cheddar Herb Twists

Several weeks ago, we made plans to celebrate after the NY Marathon. Nate’s mom was going to be in the city and so we invited a few friends to join us later in the day after the marathon for some drinks and appetizers before we all headed to dinner.

Polenta with Tomato Tapenade

Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy came and went and destroyed many things in it’s wake, including any prospect of Nate getting to run a marathon this year.

But, on a positivie note, my mother-in-law (I think that’s the first time I’ve gotten to say that!) and our friends still came over. We just decided to celebrate good friends instead of marathon-finishing.

Polenta with Tomato Tapenade

I wasn’t feeling well and I just wanted a couple easy appetizers to make. I did some searching and came across what I thought were two simple recipes.

The polenta triangles were totally delicious and TOTALLY simple. The polenta is pre-made and you can buy it in a tube at the market. I suppose you could make your own if you wanted to, but that would make it way harder. The accompanying tapenade can get quickly whipped up in a mini food precessor.

Polenta with Tomato Tapenade

*as a side note, the plate I served the polenta on was the plate I made at my bachelorette party! We went to one of those pottery painting places, then to a nice dinner and then came back to my apt for a chick flick! A perfect day :) I painted a leaf and wrote the date of the wedding on the plate. 

Cheddar Herb Twist

The breadsticks were more labor intensive, but according to my guests were totally worth it. Easy for them to say, right? It was quite a pain to twist every stick, but in the end I think I could have halved the recipe because it made A LOT.

Cheddar Herb Twists

I’m just linking to the recipes below since I didn’t change them at all:

Polenta wedges with tomato tapenade

Cheddar Herb Twists

I also made the Cider Sangria from HowSweetEats, but I made a couple changes. I subbed ginger ale for the club soda and regular brandy for ginger brandy. It was delicious!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow (if you celebrate it)!!!! We’re headed to my parents house in Florida. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!

*Warning- photo overload in this post!

Squash Chickpea Raisin Stew with Couscous

Well, our honeymoon was a blast! Due to hurricane Sandy, we actually got an extra day since our original flight was cancelled. I don’t think I actually told you guys where we were headed, but we spent 10 days in the Pacific Northwest. My first time, but not Nate’s.

We spent our first 2 days in Seattle, staying downtown at the Edgewater. It was a really cute room.

Seattle Edgewater

We managed to eat as much as we walked…stopping for some donuts in Pike’s Market plus a cookie later in the day. We had an amazing meal at The Pink Door for dinner one night, which I highly recommend for anyone visiting the area. We also took a tour of Theo Chocolate factory and ate a ton of samples- including a freshly roasted coffee bean.

Theo chocolates

But the highlight of the tour was the fact that Nate had to wear a facial hair net. There actually was another bearded guy on the tour so he wasn’t the only one.

beard net

We then headed NE of Seattle to a small town called Woodinville that’s known for its wineries. My parents’ friend’s sister owns a Winery there called Columbia Winery, and she VERY generously pulled a few strings and we got a free upgrade to the biggest, nicest suite we’d both every seen at Willows Lodge…complete with fireplace, 4 poster bed, huge bathtub…and some chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us!

She also sent over a bottle of champage and wine from her winery plus a coupon for a free tasting. We took her up on it the next morning. Unfortunately the well-known restaurant at Willows Lodge, the Barking Frog, was all booked due to restaurant week, so we headed into town to a place they recommended called Purple. They also had restaurant week so we lucked out and had huge portions of delicious food for a reasonable price!

There are some big leaves way over in Washington…

dino leaf

Unfortunately we only spent one night at Willows Lodge. Before we left though, we did happen to stumble upon the home of their truffle sniffing pig…what a cutie!

truffle sniffing pig

The next day we headed to a little resort NE of Mt Rainier called Suncadia. We thought we’d be close enough to Mt Rainier to hike there, but unfortunately the closest entrance was closed for the season, so instead we enjoyed the hikes near the resort.

Cooper River Trailhead

When we got to our room there, there was a bottle of champagne and chocolates waiting for us…and by mistake they brought us another bottle and more chocolates a few minutes after we got into our room!

Suncadia lodge

Then they gave us more special treatment with MORE champagne and chocolate covered strawberries when we got to dinner- we ate at one of their in-house restaurants since the town nearby was extremely small. On the last eve there, the chef prepared a special 5 course tasting menu. To say we left stuffed is an understatement.

outdoor fire pit Suncadia

Next it was on to Hood River. We stayed in an awesome little cabin at a place called Carson Ridge B&B on the Washington side of the river. We had our own porch :)

Carson Ridge Cabins

They had a tasty homemade breakfast daily. Aside from the rain every day until 5pm-ish, it was really nice. We hiked to a couple waterfalls- the very hidden Panther Creek Falls and the larger Tamanawa Falls- both were breathtaking. The hike to Tamanawa was very rainy and unfortunately my raincoat was sub-par, completely absorbing all the water that hit it. I wasn’t a happy camper.

Tamanawa Falls

We also managed to walk over a mile in the wrong direction due to poor signage. We arrived at the falls cold and wet (at least I was), but it was definitely worth it!

 Tamanawa Falls2

Finally, we headed over to Portland by way of Cannon Beach.

Cannon beach

Portland was the cutest little city. Our first stop was to Patagonia to buy me a new raincoat :) A very smart purchase given the weather for the rest of the trip. The fall foliage in Portland was gorgeous, and despite the rain we enjoyed ourselves. Again, we found some amazing little restaurants: Tasty ‘N Sons and The Original Diner. I highly recommend both. We made stops at Pittock mansion, The Rose Test Gardens, Voodoo Donuts…

(I have way more photos but wasn’t sure how many I could get away with posting since I haven’t given you a recipe in weeks!)

By the time we made it back to NY, I think I probably gained back the weight I lost in that last frantic week before the wedding…which is totally fine by me. But Nate and I were both sick of carbs and rich food and were craving a healthy, veggie-ful meal.

Squash Chickpea Raisin Stew with Couscous

This one hit the spot. It was warm and comforting, perfect for these chilly days we’ve been having in NY. And I changed the original recipe to include even more vegetables! A perfect end to a perfect couple of weeks!

Squash Chickpea Raisin Stew with Couscous

P.S. Check out my beautiful new everyday dishes in the photos!

Chickpea, Squash and Veggie Stew with Raisins and Couscous

Adapted from Serious Eats

Print this recipe!

Serves 4-6

1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 cinnamon stick, about 2 inches
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into fine half rings
1- 14oz can chopped tomatoes
1- 15.5 oz can chickpeas,  rinsed and drained
1 red or orange pepper, in 1 inch pieces
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 heaped cups peeled, seeded pumpkin or butternut squash cut into 1-inch dice
3 tablespoons raisins
3 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp salt
5 oz. bagged kale (or kale with stems removed and torn in pieces)
2 cups couscous
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Combine the spices in a small cup and set aside.

Put the oil in a large saucepan and set over medium-high heat. When it is hot, put in the cinnamon stick. Stir for a few seconds and then add the onion. Stir and fry for about 3 minutes, or until the onion is medium brown and soft (about 10 min).

Stir in the cup of mixed spices; almost right away, add the tomatoes. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomatoes have softened.

Add the chickpeas, pumpkin or squash, peppers, mushrooms, raisins, stock, and salt and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 13 to 15 minutes, until the pumpkin is just tender when pierced with the point of a knife. Add the kale and stir in, simmering until wilted.

While the vegetables simmer, make the couscous. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. When it is about to boil, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over a medium flame and toast the couscous in it for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the boiling water into the pot of couscous, add a teaspoon of salt, and stir once. Immediately cover the pot, turn the heat to low, and cook very gently for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit somewhere warm, still covered, for 15 minutes.

Stir in the cilantro. Fluff the couscous thoroughly with a fork. Put a mound of couscous on each plate. Make a well in the center and use a slotted spoon to fill it with solids from the stew. Dampen the couscous generously with the liquids.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

My wedding is in 10 days. I seriously can’t believe it’s happening next weekend…and that my dress isn’t done!

To say I’m stressed would be an understatement. I’m sure it’ll all come together but I’m not the kind of person who likes to wait until the last minute to get things done.

Nate and I both knew from the beginning that if we got married it would be in the autumn. So I subtly mentioned to Nate sometime last year that if he was going to propose, he better give me at least a year to plan the wedding. Luckily, he picked up on my demands hints.

Mexican Stuffed Shells2 | ElephantEats.com

I’m the type of person to arrive 10-15 minutes before I need to be somewhere. I like to allow myself way more time than necessary to do simple tasks. I know that I’ll probably end up finishing tasks with time to spare, but I’d rather have too much time than not enough. I do not like to wait until the last minute to do things!!! Oh wait, did I say that already?

So when I went to the dressmaker to ask about the sleeves that she knew (for months) that I wanted put on my dress and she told me that she’d have to order extra lace for them, I calmly told her ok, but freaked out on the inside because she should have ordered it MONTHS ago.

Mexican Stuffed Shells3 | ElephantEats.com

When she then told me 2 weeks later (and 3 weeks before my wedding) that they had shipped the lace, I felt much better…until a week after that when it still hadn’t appeared and I called her for the 20th time to ask about it. She finally told me yesterday (a week after it had supposedly shipped) that they “promised” they’d ship it that day…as in they hadn’t actually shipped it when they said they would!!!  This was on yesterday. Oh, and the dressmaker who will be making the sleeves only works on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I asked her if they had expedited it and she said that it was going from Manhattan to Manhattan, so it should get there next-day anyway. I don’t understand why, if it was less than 5 miles away this ENTIRE TIME, why she didn’t just go and pick it up?!?!?!? or ask me to, as I would have been more than happy to.

Yesterday afternoon I checked in to make sure they had received the lace, and the woman told me that she called the lace place and that despite the fact that they PROMISED it was going to ship the night before, it didn’t go out until yesterday morning (or so they claimed). And, she told me, she couldn’t even pick it up now because it was already shipped.

Mexican Stuffed Shells4 | ElephantEats.com

So all day today I’ve been anxious, waiting for UPS to come to her store so that she could tell me she has the lace. Well I called at 2pm and UPS hadn’t come yet. I called again at 4pm and they still hadn’t had a delivery. I sent an email and said that if the lace didn’t get there they better move to plan B.

I checked my email at 6pm today and there was an email from the dress lady saying “I’m going to pick up the lace tomorrow.”

WTF!?!?!?!? Didn’t she say she couldn’t pick it up because they had shipped it?? Did they not really ship it even though they said they did?? Did she lie to me?? I don’t even know who to believe anymore That lace better freaking get to the store tomorrow one way or another!!!!

 Mexican Stuffed Shells5 | ElephantEats.com

Can you tell I’m really angry?

So now here it is, 10 days before my wedding and the material to make the final parts of my dress is missing.  AND I’M FREAKING OUT.

I wish i could say that eating this recipe that I made last week, which incidentally was absolutely delicious, would help, but I seem to have lost my appetite. Hopefully it’ll come back before the honeymoon…

Mexican Stuffed Shells6 | ElephantEats.com

I do feel a little better by venting to the world wide web :)

***UPDATE as of 12:00pm on 10/12, the dress store has the lace! They went to pick it up…and told me that someone was lying because when they got it, it wasn’t even in a UPS box. So they apparently had no intention of ever shipping it! But again, I don’t know why the dress store didn’t just go and pick it up a month ago. I told them that I have to come in this weekend because I have my brow appt on Tuesday, but they told me the dress maker is on his honeymoon and won’t be back til Monday so I have to leave work early on Tuesday so they can finish it and I can try it on. So my dress isn’t going to be done until TWO days before I leave for the wedding. Oy. I’m just praying that nothing goes wrong between now and Tuesday to prevent my dress from getting finished.

***UPDATE #2: As of TWO days before my wedding, in which I spent 5 straight hours in the store and the dressmaker made me cry, I have my dress. By the way, the dress store is called Adrienne’s and is in downtown nyc. I’m telling you this so that if you’re thinking of buying a dress, you can avoid it at all costs. I’m going to write a scathing review on every website I can find. I’ll give you updates after the wedding after I have time to calm down about this and how I was treated.

P.S. I do realize that people in this world have far worse problems that they’re dealing with right now, and I am by no means comparing my “little” problem to theirs. I’m thankful that this is the worst thing going on in my life right now (knock on wood), and if my dress doesn’t have sleeves my wedding will still be beautiful. But right now, I’m frustrated…

To see our wedding photos, click here!

To see Nate’s AMAZING wedding video/ story-of-us, click here!

 

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Slightly adapted from The Way to His Heart

Print this recipe!

Serves 8-10

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 package taco seasoning
2- 8 oz containers of sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen (or fresh) corn kernels, thawed
4 oz. cream cheese
20 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce (This is a smooth, tomato based sauce found in the Mexican section)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
3 green onions
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a frying pan cook turkey; add taco seasoning and mushrooms and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese and corn, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely.

While turkey is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed. Top with any condiments you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

 

Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Apple

Nate and I went upstate last weekend with a couple of our friends to Poet’s Walk Park…where Nate and I were exactly one year ago when Nate proposed.

Nate wanted to go back to shoot a couple things for the wedding video (which is now officially done, and completely awesome!!!) and we needed the help of our friends to do this. We also wanted to take a few pics at the proposal location since we completely forgot to snap a pic of it when it was actually happening. Oops :)

The bridge where Nate proposed…one year later!

This park is fairly small but it has gorgeous views.

It was a two hour drive north of the city, so we thought we’d take advantage and stop at Fishkille Farms on the way home to do a little apple picking! Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish New Year, was coming up and apples are traditional to eat (with honey) for a “sweet” New Year.

Nate and bridesmaid, Kim, showing their apple excitement!

We picked a ton! I wanted to make sure we got enough for eating plain and for cooking, although i didn’t have anything specific in mind yet.

We also got some hot cider for me (cold for Nate) and some fresh cider donuts. YUM!

I knew I wanted to make a recipe to use apples. On Rosh Hashannah, since all my family and jewish friends were travelling, I decided to just make a nice dinner for the two of us.

I roasted up a chicken and set off the fire alarm. The recipe had me cooking it at 450° with just the chicken in the pan, nothing under it. After it completely smoked out our apt, I looked up what to do and someone suggested putting a layer of potatoes under the chicken and roasting it at 425°. Luckily I had one lone potato sitting on the counter so i sliced it up and put it under the chicken and shoved it back in the oven.

Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Apple

Success! Well kinda. It stopped the chicken from smoking, but when I checked the temperature of the chicken after the allotted time, it was at the correct temp. I took it out of the oven and the breast was perfectly cooked, but other parts were still raw! Ugh, I’m never cooking a chicken again. I’d rather just buy a rotisserie one from the market.

Anyway, I wanted some nice side dishes to go with dinner and since I had some freshly picked apples to use, I pulled out this apple cookbook that I got last year that hasn’t ever gotten used, and found a really tasty recipe for The Best Twice-Baked Potatoes.

Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Apple

They were really good. I think I was expecting them to be more sweet with the apples and the sweet potato, but they were definitely more on the savory side, but still delicious! I highly recommend these as a side dish for your next holiday meal…or even just an every day dinner :)

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Apple

Very slightly adapted from The Comfort of Apples Cookbook

Print this recipe!

Serves 6-8

1/4 cup olive oil
4 medium yams (about 3 pounds total)
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups light cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
3 cups peeled and diced apples (1/4 inch dice)
3/4 cup bread in small chunks
3/4 cup parmesan in 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup parsley

Preheat oven to 400.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spread with olive oil. Roll the yams in the oil to coat and season well with salt and pepper. Bake until tender, about 1 hour, and remove from oven. **Alternatively, pierce potatoes several times with the tip of a knife, wrap in paper towels and microwave until soft.

Bring the cream to a simmer over medium-high heat in a small saucepan, and whisk in the butter. Reduce heat to medium, add the garlic, thyme, and apples, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until apples are tender, 8-10 min.

Slice each yam in half and scoop out the hot insides into a medium bowl. Fold in the hot cream mixture. Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells.

Place the bread, parmesan, and parsley in a food processor and pulse until fine. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the potatoes, return to oven, and bake until yams are lightly browned and crisp, about 1/2 hour.