drammatical

... for some california grass.

I'm back, from Mexico, Thanksgiving, Out-of-town assignment, and so on. Luckily I won't be going anywhere for work anytime soon. At least not till January/ February until I'm assigned a new job. But enough about that. Now to some fun stuff.

#1. Mexico. Was. Fucking. AWESOME. So much so we were literally depressed coming back. The people, my people, the food, the environment, the water, the booze, the gra… it was all so great. Beyond great.

We went to Ixtapa/ Zihuatanejo. This place is so beautiful. Still so very virgin, which made it so breathtaking. Both N and I have always talked about moving to Mexico, away from this Matrix world. A place full of peace and love and all that. No, we’re not tree huggers, at least not yet. Anyway, it was so refreshing to see people in there domain. Living freely, without a worry. I mean yes people work hard, they work their asses off but in the end it pays off. Here we work our asses off and for what? A Porche? A BMW? To live in the 90210? Seriously, I can’t live like this anymore. The commercial American way that is. So yes, this trip was not only relaxing but also an eye opener. More like a validation to our already thoughts on life. I can seriously go on and on but I’ll stop right here. Just make it to this place if you can, and please go with an open mind. Please treat people with respect. Treat the land with respect. Unfortunately we did see some American tourists already bringing the ways of the gringo down there.

#2. Thanksgiving. This was really our first Thanksgiving here in the States as a married couple. We hosted N’s mom and sister for brunch at our little casita and then headed off to my sister’s in the boondocks for dinner. Except we were so full from brunch we didn’t eat. Whoops. Fun was had all day though. Lots of drinking of course and catching up with my sis. I love her to death and I hate that we don’t spend more time together.

As for the food, I actually took it upon myself to become Suzy Homemaker for a day. I did all the prepping/ cooking on Wednesday and on Thursday it was nothing but reheating. I made two quiches (thanks G!), stuffed mushrooms, gravy, brownies, and a fruit salad. I wanted to also make a pumpkin pie but I was really done by the end of the night. I took pictures too! But those will be uploaded later, I swear. As for my recipes:

*My modifications are in italics
Quiche alla Geefunk
10 oz Chopped Spinach [TJ’s frozen]
1 pkg Cubed Pancetta [TJ's] (I used sweet Italian and spicy sasauge from local Italian market)
1/2 an Onion (used brown onion)
1/2 cup diced Mushrooms (maybe next time I’ll add a bit more)
8oz Sour Cream
1/2 pkg TJ's 4 Cheese Italian Shredded Cheese (used 4-cheese from Italian mrkt)
4 Large Eggs (used 5)
3/4 cup half & half
1 1/2 tsp Dry Parsley (used fresh Italian Parsley)
2 - 9inch unbaked pie crusts (used TJ’s frozen pie crusts)
Salt & Pepper

Preheat Oven to 375°

Cook cubed pancetta (sausage) and set aside on paper towel to drain. Cook
spinach according to pkg instructions and allow to cool. Sauté diced onion until transparent. Add diced mushroom and sauté for 2-3min. Mix in cooked pancetta (sausage) and remove from heat. In a bowl mix the sour cream with the drained spinach [use your hands to squeeze out liquid] and season with salt and pepper. In another bowl whisk the eggs, half & half, dry parsley, and salt & pepper. Split mixtures into the 2 pie crusts in this order - spread the sour cream/spinach mixture evenly for the 1st layer, add the onion/mushroom/pancetta (sausage) mixture for the 2nd layer, add a cheese layer, and top with the egg mixture to coat the top. Remember to spread everything evenly on both pie crusts.
[Side note: I felt the need for more of the egg mixture. I think next time I'll use another egg] (Thanks for the rec G!, it worked better with the xtra egg)


Place the 2 quiches on a baking pan and pop in the oven. Cook for 40 mins - until top is golden. Allow to cool for 5-10min. (I only put them in for 30 min since my oven is like Satan’s lair)



Brownies
13 ounces of butter
11 ounces of chocolate chips (usually come in 12 ounce packages – this allows for a little chef snack!)
2 1/2 ounces of dark chocolate
1/4 cup of corn syrup
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
6 ounces nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.), chopped

Preheat the oven to 300F. Spray or grease a baking sheet and line with parchment paper. You may also use a silpat.

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan, remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips, chocolate and corn syrup until fully melted and mixture is well combined. Set aside to cool.

Whip the sugar, eggs and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy. When the chocolate mixture has cooled to just about room temperature, add it to the sugar and egg mixture until incorporated. Continue mixing and sift in the flour and cocoa powder until combined.

Spread mixture evenly on prepared sheet. Spread the chopped nuts over the top, pressing down with your hands. Bake for about 1 hour until the top is springy to the touch. (all ovens are different, I only have mine in for 40 minutes) To cut, let cool, turn upside down onto a cutting board, remove the parchment paper, reinvert and cut into desired pieces.

Stuffed Mushrooms
... will post later