Valentines/Anniversary Dinner

As I mentioned before, instead of fighting the crowds and over-priced Valentines Day menus, we choose to make a really special meal at home to celebrate the day of love and the day we said our "I do's".  Usually it involves making a dish we've never made at home before.  This year, I decided to make seared duck breast.


I set out on Monday to run a few errands and gather all my ingredients.  The last stop of the day was to get the duck at the awesome downtown Central Market.  Tragically, it was not so awesome that day as they were all out of duck breast!  Oh no - it was way too late to completely change the menu.  Then I spotted this.  I was already charting new territory cooking duck - I wasn't about to butcher the thing too!

Central Market became totally awesome again in my book when they butchered it and gave me the most beautiful boneless duck breasts ever (and a lot of other duck parts too).  I paid a lot more than I would have otherwise - but it was still cheaper than a fancy steak.


I'll cut to the good stuff... here are the recipes I used.


Seared Duck (note - I used black cherry jam instead of currant)
Cheese Grits 
Sautéed Spinach (no recipe needed, but I did use a little of the leftover duck fat to sauté the spinach)


I knew we wouldn't be eating until late (had to get kids to bed first) so I made a little snack to tide us over - some simple scallion cream cheese.

And while selfishly preparing our romantic dinner, I didn't have much extra time or energy to fight with the kids over theirs.  Trust me, there were no complaints.

Back to our meal.  I kept the sides simple.  I was nervous about getting the duck right and didn't want super complicated sides.  Originally I was going to get more fancy with the cheese I used in the grits, but in the end went with the called for sharp cheddar and oh my!  Seriously best cheese grits I've ever eaten!


On the duck, I was really afraid the cherry jam and cassis might end up too sweet but it was puhhhrrr-fect!  My only complaint was that I didn't render the duck quite long enough.  The skin could have used a bit more crispiness - maybe another minute.  It creates a texture issue when there is too much fat and it's not crispy enough on top.  But the flavor was spot on!


And how pretty does this plate look?  I am a seriously harsh critic of my own food but this may be my favorite thing I've ever made.  Delicious!

We even sat in our beautiful new dining room.  And I pulled the crystal out of boxes where they've been for at least two years.  They still had the tags on them.

In case you didn't notice... I haven't mentioned dessert.  That's because while the main course may have been my best ever, dessert was easily the worst.  I decided to do a soufflé.  I did it last year, but it's not like you make soufflé all the time so it's still something special.  I'm not sure what happened.  Soufflé is a very delicate thing and I don't have the most delicate touch.  I used a different recipe but it could have been some other horrific mistake that caused the death of my soufflé.  It never rose properly and I think I over-cooked it.  Terrible.  Just awful.  


Thankfully, our dinner was lovely enough to stand on it's own. And we had plenty of wine and champagne left.  The soufflé didn't destroy the evening.


It was a wonderful celebration of our marriage!


Now to figure out what to do with the rest of that duck.  No seriously.  What do I do with this?

Happy Valentines Day!

Over the weekend, the kids made Valentine cards for their classmates.  Thank the Lord, their school does not allow goodie bags or candy.  Cards only!  Nothing wrong with all that other stuff but the simplicity sure did make it so much easier on me.  So we made it a fun weekend art project.  I cut - and the kids glued and colored and stickered the cards up.

Tomorrow Fletcher will be celebrating at the ENT.  Poor guy has been plain old sick for months.  Sadly, we don't even realize how sick he's been until he begins getting well again.  For a few days at the end of a round of antibiotics, his little personality shines.  But within days he is overcome again by cough, congestion and ear infection.  I think it's time for tubes.


He's apparently a sick/stress eater.  When he doesn't feel well, he soothes with food.  Cause he clearly needs to eat.  Last Friday he weighed in at a solid 31 pounds.  A full pound and a half heavier than he was one week prior at his 15-month/ear follow-up appointment.  Yowza.


Some sibling bonding over Dora.

Valentines Day also happens to be Pat and my anniversary.  We always choose not to fight the V-Day crowds, instead staying in and cooking a really special meal.  Here's a sneak peak at what I have in store for tomorrow.  There will be some serious goodness going on in my kitchen!  Check back later for more details!

Before and After. The Dining Room.

When we moved into this house, our dining room looked something like this (excuse the way too warm/yellow photo).  Why why why do builders put carpet in dining spaces?  I will never understand that.  Anyway, it had carpet.

First, we bought our first dining room table and chairs!  I did this before I discovered the hidden talents of my neighbor, Katie.  I think the outcome was fine but the process was horrendous!  Want to torture me?  Put me in a room full of fabric swatches with no guidance.

We had planned to one day put hardwood flooring down in this room.  And then the Leak of 2011 happened.  And viola - hardwood floors!

So, up until a few weeks ago, this is how our dining room looked.  Pretty table.  Pretty floors.  Pat even painted a pretty picture for the room.  But that was it.  The before...

And now - the after...

Katie and I had a vision of a beautiful, elegant, all-white room. Sometimes I could see it.  Other times I struggled.  Especially when we painted the walls white.  Oh wow.  It just looked so cold and barren.  I really had to keep convincing myself - and Pat - to see this project through.  But then we hung the drapes... amazing what a few yards of fabric will do.  They made all the difference in the world!

By the way, while there are a few nice, new pieces in this room, most of it was pulled together by repurposing a few things we already had and taking the time to find incredible bargains.  For example, we have crazy tall ceilings.  I needed 120" drapes!  I was not about to spend a fortune on custom ones - but I also probably couldn't even turn a sewing machine on if my life depended on it.  Fortunately, we found bargain pre-made drapes in just the right length.  


This buffet was a fun and super inexpensive find too.  Katie found some guy who advertised used furniture through an online yard sale.  We went scavenging through his multiple storage units filled with furniture, looking for a buffet to refinish.  We found lots of treasures - and they were such a bargain, we left with two!  The one I refinished for the sunroom and this one that needed nothing but a little furniture polish!

I pooled some coupons to frame Pat's beautiful canvas painting.

The lamps were the final touch and probably the hardest to find.  We searched high and low.  Bargain hunting generally takes more time.  And a lot more patience.  Found a set of lamps we liked but they were too big to both sit on this buffet.  Plus we decided they would look better in the master bedroom (future project).  We hunted and hunted and hunted.  Then one day this week Katie called me from TJMaxx.  She had been on a little shopping spree and was coming over.  Here is what she found.  Perfect!

I love this space now.  It's so inviting and beautiful.  I want to have lots and lots of parties in this room.  Silly as it sounds, I feel like a grown up!  The pictures really don't do it justice.  You'll just have to come for dinner to see for yourself!

Hazards of Moving

I sat down to write about our newly decorated dining room but quickly realized I needed to take a step back and truly dedicate some time to what all this renovation/decoration means to me.


I have moved a lot.  Seriously.  I haven't lived at one address for more than 18 months since I left for college - 20 years ago.  You do the math.  It's exhausting to think about.  


I've had incredible experiences along the way and am fortunate to have precious friends scattered all over the U.S.  But there are some hazards to moving too.


First of all, have you ever had a potential identity theft issue and your bank or credit card needs to confirm you are who you say you are?  Do you know how many years of previous addresses they have on file for you?  More than I can remember, that's for sure.  It's embarrassing when I can't recall my address from 3 or 4 years ago.  I have to take crib notes with me when filling out financial documents requiring my residence for the last 5 years.  And I always have to use the extra space provided on the back (it's even worse when they ask for employment history).


Next, you just get tired and ready to plant roots somewhere.  Especially with kids.  We've moved twice now with them.  Even with an enormous amount of help in our last move, it's not easy.  I want our kids to have friends and feel a sense of community.  Don't get me wrong - I don't have any notions that lots of moving would be harmful - quite the contrary, I think it's probably a wonderful thing to experience new places and cultures and learn to rebuild.  But would it hurt to stay put for just a while?  No.


Third (a biggie) - it's expensive.  Boxes, movers/rental vans, deposits, repairs, closing costs, etc.  I always feel like I'm in financial recovery from a move.


Another hazard is that no one ever has your current mailing address.  One of my favorite things in the whole world is receiving Christmas cards.  When you move as much as I do, the pile of cards begins to dwindle year after year.  The post office will only forward to one address and friends get tired of tracking you down.  Every year I'm on a crazy mission to get my Christmas card out before everyone else simply so you'll know where I now reside.

Side note - thank GOD for Facebook, Twitter, this blog, etc.  Say what you will about social media - but I feel so connected with my family and friends who are far away.  It allows me to share so much with them that I would otherwise miss.  We get to reconnect with old friends, celebrate joys together, hurt with them as they go through tough times, pray for them as needed, share advice, recipes, funny stories - and certainly not least - share the best and worst moments of raising kids.

But one final yet subtle hazard of moving - one that only dawned on me recently - is that you never really get to settle down and build up a collection of furniture or accessories.  It's best to travel light when you move as often as I do.  For years a lot of my stuff sat in storage.  I've even moved it from one storage unit to another.  Believe it or not, my storage unit moves were the most complicated of them all.  Most of all, you never get to decorate.  Other than slapping a fresh coat of paint on a wall or two, I haven't ever decorated a home I have lived in.  


When we moved to Houston, I said this was it.  I am not going anywhere again any time soon.  I'm done.  I love this house and I'm finally ready to make this our home.


So, with the great help of my friend and neighbor who is a mommy-retired interior designer, I have been slowly but surely putting this house together.  Pat too - he gets very involved.  And while incredibly frustrating at times (I am not very good at this and second guess myself all. the. time) I'm having a BALL!  I love to step back, watch the progress and envision what is to come.


We hung curtains last week.  It was a big moment.  I felt like an adult.  Curtains.  Oh, and what a difference they made!


If When we stay in this home through the summer, it will be the longest I have lived in one place since 1992.  THAT will be worthy of celebration.

Update

It's January - er, uh, make that February - still in the getting-it-together-for-the-new-year mode.


I have some fun posts coming but wanted to just say hello and give a quick update on life in the Fraher house.  Pat is gone for the next week - in Angola for work - so I should have lots of extra time for blogging!


The pantry is still organized!  Woohoo!  Except for the occasion when Fletcher turns a food item into a toy.

Or his personal snack.

These two are still the best of friends.  And worst of enemies.  I can assure you moments after this adorable picture was taken of Sydney pushing her brother in the swing, she was trying to yank him out of the seat because it was HER TURN!

Case in point (as they seriously test the engineering of a baby bouncy seat).  By the way, do you hear all that whining?  Like fingernails on a chalkboard.



And I've been trying to avoid this for some time but - Fletcher is finally learning to use a spoon.  Thank goodness we had the foresight to wait until the kids got a little older before replacing our raggedy kitchen chairs.  They will be beyond even Salvation Army by the time we're done with them.

I still have not perfected the lemon ricotta pancake.  I tried using less egg whites in the original recipe.  Nope.  The texture was all wrong.  Too ricotta-y.  Then I tried a whole new recipe - Bobby Flay's.  Nope.  Too lemon-y and not cakey enough.  I'm not really a baker so experimenting beyond finding other recipes isn't really in the cards for me.  But I found another one online that I think with one minor alteration might do the trick.  I'll keep you posted.  Thankfully I have willing taste testers.


No, Ashley and I have not finished Dad's Christmas present... the picture project with all the grandkids.  Maybe by Easter.


Oh, and by the way, Sydney is potty trained.  What I thought was going to be a long, drawn out, hair-pulling, tearful process was SO STINKING EASY!  She just sort of decided to do it one day.  And it's like she's been using the potty all her life.  She still wears a diaper overnight.  But not during naps.  She's done.  It's truly the most remarkable thing ever.  And I cannot take one bit of credit for it at all.  Dang.  I'm really grateful she waited until after the holidays to make this leap.  I can't imagine handling the travel with a potty training toddler.  I assure you it would have been much harder on me than her.


So there you have it!  Thanks for going on this journey with us.  I've been blogging now for almost exactly a year.  It's been a great joy and even better motivator.  Speaking of - I'm going to motivate myself out of this chair to take few pics of my latest project.  Some before and after coming your way soon!