Nori Fix!

Tonight I went over to Megan and Jake's to bring some food over and to see sweet baby Norelle. She just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter! She is so content and happy, i just love her a ton!
It was great to hold her and feed her... Kelly, who also brought food, said that if i got started tonight i could have my own baby by October?!?! Hmmmm....I will have to think about that one!
It was fun to see the "S" clan... They are the perfect little family. For dinner, Kelly brought Balsamic Thyme Chicken and fresh bread from the Breadsmith. yum. And I made a Torte di Riso (picture is provided for a visual, not my pic)

and Angel Food Cake with Chocolate and Raspberries.

I think summer needs to hurry up so we can have more fresh berries and angel food cake! someday!

Torta Di Riso
From Special Occasions by Martha Stewart. Serves 10-15
6 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1/2 cup bread crumbs
10 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, basil, parsley, and oregano
3 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Butter springform pan and coat with breadcrumbs, shaking out excess. Set aside In a large saucepan, heat stock to boiling, then lower to a simmer.
In a large heavy saucepan over low heat, melt 3 Tbsp. of butter. Add onion, garlic, and about 2/3 cup of the herbs and cook until onions are soft and transparent. Increase heat to medium and add rice. Stir well to coat all the grains.
Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until mostly evaporated. Add 1 cup of hot stock and simmer, stirring constantly until mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes. Add remaining stock a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly. Always wait until one ladleful is nearly absorbed before adding the next. Continue until rice is creamy and firm but not hard in the center (al dente) The cooking time should be about 15-20 minutes, but you must taste rice to judge doneness. Add remaining herbs about halfway through cooking time.
Stir in remaining 3 tblsp of butter, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour into prepared pan and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake torta for about 30 minutes, or until heated through (test by inserting a knife into the center for 15 seconds and checking the temperature of the blade upon removal to see that it is hot.)
Unmold torta carefully onto a plate, sprinkle additional Parmesan over the top, slice into wedges and serve.
Notes: This Torta is good for a party since it can be made ahead of time. It is essential that you use Italian short-grain rice; arborio is a widely available variety.

I wanna be a supermodel!

For my birthday, I received a gift card to one of my favorite places: Sephora!!! The creme de la creme of beauty products store. When i go there I am like a kid in a candy store. I really have a thing for makeup and beauty products. HOWEVER, the prices can be very high for some items... so when I go, I just am there to browse, try on the latest colors, smell the Philosophy body washes and spray my favorite perfumes. And then *maybe* I will buy something out of the $5 and under bins. But now with my gift card with a very sizable amount on the balance, what to buy?!? I wanted to be the most savy and get the most out of my gc. There were at least 3 things I was really wanting, Dior Diorshow Mascara, Stila Lip Glaze and Smashbox O-GLOW... but all those together were way over the amount I had to spend. Until.... I found the best deal ever! It is called the Supermodel Kit.

What it is: A glamourous gift set filled with products used by Sephora makeup artists for Fashion Week Live. Set includes a Stila Lip Glaze in Brown Sugar, Make Up For Ever Diamond Shadow in Diamond Black 307, Smashbox Mini Travel Photo Finish Foundation Primer in Original, Smashbox O-GLOW, Dior Diorshow Mascara in Black 090, Sephora Blush Me! Mono in Abricot Plaisir 6, all in a chic black sequined Sephora Brand clutch.

Fate had smiled upon me. All three things i wanted were in one set. Plus other fabulous products that i love! For one great price!

Now I am ready to walk the catwalk. Tyra, pick me! pick me!

I am a GIRL

As to now defend my feminine womanly awesomeness... I will no longer talk about sports. I rarely talk sports anyway. It's not at all how i used to be back in the day when i was ADDICTED to sports talk radio! KFAN morning, noon and night!!! And on top of that, I could tell you everything that was ever going on in the sports world, even sports i didn't like. It reached a point where it got so bad that I was having scores texted to me!! GIVE ME A BREAK! Guess what solved my problem: I bought a car that didnt have AM radio... NO AM=NO KFAN! That was years ago anyway.
So my ticket is booked for my friend Liz's wedding next week in San Antonio. I leave Valentine's night and therefore i get to share my love with strangers on a plane. I am so excited to see Liz and visit San Antonio, which i hear is a beautiful city. Alamo here I come! Which reminds me of a scene from Pee-Wee's Big adventure. The one where Pee-Wee goes to the Alamo to look for his bike. He says, "Excuse me, where is the basement?" And the tour guide lady says, "There's no basement in the Alamo!" and they all laugh at him. Poor Pee-Wee. The tour guide lady also says "These people live in an ADOBE, can you all say ADOBE?" Everytime i hear the word 'Adobe', I say that line from the movie. ADOBE!



Anyway I need a dress now for this wedding... good reason to go shopping. Dresses and shopping are very girly too!

Eli is the MANning!

I never said that I thought the Pats would win, I had a good hunch that it was going to be a either a close one or an upset by the Giants. I waged no bets, cause I knew something was brewing. I give credit to Eli though, if you can pull yourself out of almost being sacked by a bunch of Big Fat Beefy Linemen, then dude, you are the right Man(ning) for the job! (This is almost too easy.) All I have to say about yesterday's game is, both teams went out playing the slow and steady card. Had the Patriots went out and EXPLODED, they indeed would've been the winners. Slow and Steady does not always win the race... unless you are a Giant.

Reality Check Time Minnesota!

Everyone's talking about Boston\New England... No, not for the Fall colors and the chowder. But for the sports. Oh the Trifecta of perfection that is taking place in Bean Town. The Sox with their World Series sweep, the Pats with their perfect record and the Celtics with their big wins. One must think that this is just a moment of pure coincidence. Wake up America, do you not see what is happening here?

Do these names ring a bell: David Ortiz, Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett? Were they not once some of, if not Thee best players on our MN teams? And now? David Ortiz has not only 1 but 2 World Series wins under his belt. Randy Moss will most likely win the Super Bowl, and KG, can we say Playoffs! And I don't mean in the way Jim Mora said it!

Let me tell you something else, its not just Boston. Watch and see what happens with Torii Hunter and the Angels, and Johan Santana and the Mets! I wouldn't be surprised if they both actually *go* to the World Series, let alone WIN! But don't start crying me a river when you say, It's a money thing! Boston has more money which equals better players which equals more victories. The Mets, the Yankees the whomevers... they have the money, true, but there is something going on behind closed doors... Plans and deals are being hatched everyday and who is left with the proverbial goose egg? MINNESOTA SPORTS TEAMS! Jokes on us suckers!

To make this more clear, I will put it to you in laymen's terms: Let's say you have a kid that wants to be pro-tacular, agents listen up to. Send the kid to MN first. Let them sweat it out here, break their hearts year after year with almost going to the World Series, almost going to the Super Bowl and almost going to the Playoffs. Oh it will sting, the defeat will be painful, but right when they think that all hope for victory is lost... some team from Boston or New York or anywhere but here, will scoop them up and bring them to their glorious full potential! Do I feel bad that Ortiz, Moss and KG are gone, yeah maybe a bit, am I more happy to actually see them go somewhere with their careers, Heck yeah! And cry cry boo hoo for Hunter and Santana all you want. But come on, they put in their dues, lets cheer them on to greatness!

Don't get me wrong I live for and love our beloved Twins, and I will always have a soft spot for the Vikings and T-wolves... but the sooner we can accept the truth, the sooner we will realize this: Minnesota is a place created by the MLB, NFL and NBA to raise superstars. We are the incubator of the sports world. At least we can be proud that we raised our lil' sluggers right! Dang Proud!

One Big Happy Family!

Tom, Katie and...

SURI!!!

They're Back!

The greatest show on television is back from its 8 month hiatus. It made me so giddy to see that opening LOST flying through space! I will spare the details for those of you who could care less, or who are not mega-fans. But this is my theory: 6 people got off the island, Jack, Kate and Hurley for sure... Hurley is back in the loo-loo bin and Jack comes to visit him, along with a phantom Charlie. Charlie tells Hurley that he has to go back, and when Jack comes for a visit, Hurley says, "we have to go back!!!" Jack says something about growing a beard. Ok rewind to last season, Jack is now a beard wearing alcoholic. (the beard is hot by the way, but I am sucker for facial hair) anyway, there is a funeral, possibly Hurley's? And then Jack realizes that they have to go back! Who are the other 3 who get off the island? Locke? Sawyer? Said???? Your guess is as good as mine! Another theory is that there are more than 6 who got off the island, but the Oceanic 6 were the ones recognized as heroes? And why can't they talk about what really happened on the island? Who was the creepy guy in Jacob's cabin? And will Penelope and Desmond ever be reunited? All these questions burning a whole in my brain!