Home alone

Fog in Juneau prevented John from making it home tonight - we had planned to actually go out to dinner! So I stopped at the grocery store late, picked up some frozen cocktail shrimp (fondly recalling the coffee can size we used to get from Petersburg...).
Boiled up some capellini, sauteed leeks and garlic in butter, added mushrooms, some snow peas, tossed it a bit, added a dollop of white wine (that would be the lovely and drinkable Yalumba Viognier), let that come to a boil, then reduced to a simmer, added the shrimp to heat through.
Plated it all up with a tossed green salad, and a side of a really good mango, strawberries, and navel oranges. And finished the lovely and drinkable Yalumba Viognier.
John sent a text to say he was watching a really good NBA game. How nice for him.

The Remains of the Day

Got to spend time at home this weekend, so went all out: Made a batch of granola, made bread. John marinated sliced beef for beef teriyaki then went of to a wine training seminar (tough work sometimes) so I sliced up veggies, cleaned the acre of real estate off the Romaine, and made roasted turnips.
It was a lovely dinner of beef teriyaki on brown rice (shades of the Fiddlehead), turnips roasted with rosemary and bay, green salad with grapefruit and onion vinaigrette, fresh honey butter oatmeal bread (double shades of the Fiddlehead) crispy apples and Veramonte SB.
Then we watched Helvetica, a fascinating movie about the font. Who knew? Really - if you can, watch it. Nancy

Just like old times

Up early to bake:
A quiche Lorraine for the birthday brunch today, and a rustic apple tart for dinner's dessert, all before 7 am.
Not sure that schedule agrees with me anymore, if it ever did.
The tart used the left over pie crust from the quiche, involved sautéing sliced apples in some butter with a bit of sugar until lightly browned and then putting them on the crust, folding over and baking for about 30 minutes, then sprinking with a bit of brown sugar as it comes out of the oven. Got the recipe from Bistro Cooking, a nice little book of French recipes by Patricia Wells.

Thanks, Julia Child

So, I'm probably the last foodie I know to see "Julie and Julia," and we watched it last night, after finally thawing out from the Polar Bear Dip at Auke Rec, my first. It really lit a fire under the hubby, who is, as we speak, carmelizing onions for French Onion Soup. (Fiddlehead recipe, not Julia's) Speaking of the Fiddlehead Cookbook, I sent a copy to our exchange student's family in Germany, and Evi L. of Gerlingen is making an entire meal from it for friends for dinner tonight. We'll keep you posted, or maybe get her on the blog. She loves Alaskan seafood and Italian cooking, so will have some great thoughts I bet. Happy New Year!