Christmas in November
A Thanksgiving Weekend with Family
My parents made a tremendous sacrifice to come to Arkansas for Thanksgiving. With a 16 hour drive both here and back, they didn't have a ton a time here but I cherished the little time that I did have with them. They arrived Wednesday evening and headed back for home on Sunday Morning. I had a lot of things packed into that time that I wanted to do with them. Arkansas has such amazing restaurants and food that I wanted my family to experience a little of. So before they arrived I gathered menus from a few of my favorite restaurants along with brochures for a few of the sites that they might be interested in seeing.
Thursday was all about Thanksgiving and relaxing and visiting as a family. I had prepared everything that I could Wednesday before they arrived so we wouldn't have to worry about it on Thursday. My favorite part of Thanksgiving (besides the whole "thanks" part of course) is planning the menu. As most of you know, I absolutely love to cook! I love to try new things and challenge myself with difficult recipes.
This year, my parents brought the Turkey so I didn't have to worry about that aspect of the dinner (when I do the turkey, I usually use some sort of brining solution along with injecting the turkey- it makes the meat very juicy and flavorful). My dad works with a guy who does a special recipe and cooking process on the turkey to give it amazing flavor so we signed up to have his families business make our turkey this year. I must say it was the best turkey I have ever had in my life! And the best part- it was one less thing I had to worry about.
As for the rest of the meal, we enjoyed garlic and Romano cheese mashed potatoes, sauteed green beans with portobello mushrooms, sweet dinner rolls, sausage, apple, and cranberry stuffing, Sparkling apple cider, garlic herb butter, pumpkin pie, and walnut streusel pumpkin pie. It was my most successful Thanksgiving dinner thus far (my forth Thanksgiving that I was in charge of since we have been married). I have included a few of the recipes in the "What's Cookin" section of the blog. You are welcome to try them out for you Christmas dinners.
Although I love to cook, baking is a whole other story! This was the third time I have attempted to make a homemade pie crust for pumpkin pie. The two previous times were slightly unsuccessful- not bad, but not good! This Thanksgiving, I am happy to report that I have finally mastered the perfect pie crust! It was flaky, buttery, and soft. The secret is to chill the Crisco before you add it, use ice water, and don't over mix (you want pockets of the Crisco in the crust to create the flakiness). Once ingredients are mixed, roll into a ball, wrap in Saran wrap, and chill before you roll the crust out! Those are the secrets to the perfect pie crust. So don't be afraid to tackle a completely homemade pie this Christmas.
Friday was filled with lots of black Friday shopping (a family tradition). We all went non-stop for a good portion day until we stopped at a "Relax the Back" store. Of course we all had to try out the massage chair to ease our shopping pains!
For dinner we were able to take everyone to one of Dave and I's favorite restaurants here in Arkansas, Larry's Pizza. Friday is buffet night at Larry's so we were in luck! Normally I am the type of person that likes the furthest thing from a buffet, but I must say Larry's bring s little something different to the table! First of all, their pizza is some of the best I have ever had, not to mention the enormous amount of creative pizza's they offer! On buffet night here in Arkansas the line often proceeds out the door to get a seat. There is certainly nothing high class about the experience or process, it is definitely straight up Arkansas and the people come out in full force to enjoy all of the goodness!
Instead of going up to a bar and filling your plate with an unimaginable amount of pizza they bring it to you fresh out of the oven! We almost have the process down to an art, so when bringing my family to the best pizza in town, I gave them a quick run down of the Larry's Pizza rules. You will want two plates-one for regular pizza and another for dessert pizza, don't waste your time getting a salad at the salad bar- there are too many good pizza choices to fill up on your veggies, don't get pizza from the bar area- they will bring around fresh pizza as it comes out of the oven, don't get a bunch of one kind-there are too many good pizza flavors to fill up on one kind, and last but not least, prepare to eat pizza like you have never eaten pizza before! To get the true Larry's Pizza experience, it is really as simple as that!
The most entertaining part is to hear all the waitresses go around the restaurant calling out the name of the pizza flavor they have in hand in their deep southern drawl. My favorite is the baked potato pizza. Now I know it probably doesn't sound that appetizing, that's what I thought the first time I heard it too, but it is absolutely amazing! It is basically like eating a loaded baked potato. It has slices of baked potato, perfectly crispy bacon, sour cream, cheese, and some sort of special buttery sour cream ranch sauce. Dave's favorite is the Buffalo chicken pizza. It has a Buffalo wing type sauce with Buffalo chicken and lots of cheese. Some of the other creative varieties include (but are not limited to) the cheeseburger pizza (including the mustard and pickles, and really does taste just like a cheeseburger), taco pizza, fajita pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, chicken and spinach, chicken ranch mushroom, chicken Alfredo, steak Alfredo, chicken honey mustard, margarita pizza, BLT pizza and all the regulars as well. And every one of them is surprisingly good! Now for the dessert pizzas they have an amazing Bavarian cream (my favorite), chocolate peanut butter (Dave's Favorite), peach cobbler, apple cobbler, cherry cobbler, blueberry cobbler, cinnamon sticks, and more. I think everyone enjoyed the Larry's Pizza experience. My Dad said he couldn't remember the last time he eat that much pizza!
Afterward we all went and played games in the game room of the restaurant. I had a blast playing games I haven't played since I was in high school! I couldn't resist playing my two old favorites, skeeball and air hockey. We all had a few good laughs, especially playing air hockey. Dave said he was surprised at my mad air hockey skills (he had never seen me play before) and was afraid to play me. First round I killed him, and when I say killed him, he literally couldn't stand that I beat him that bad. Round two and three I took it a little easier on him, letting him leave with some dignity and allowing him to beat me (in all reality, after the intense rounds with my brother and Dave my arm was so tired and sore I couldn't hardly do much the last two rounds- that just shows you how out of shape I am right now!).
To end our long day we pulled out the Christmas tree, turned on some Christmas music, and started to light the tree. I am the type of tree lighter were I have to go up and down each branch with lights rather than just run the lights around the tree (it drives Dave crazy- maybe someday it will be motivation enough to get me a prelite tree-hint, hint). We were all so tired from our exhausting day we didn't even finish the tree that evening. 
We set the tree up in front of our 12' dining room window that faces the front of our house. It is the perfect spot for a tree and we don't have a table for that room yet anyways. The only problem is that we have a 7.5' tree in a 14' tall room. It looks a little dwarfed to say the least. But it is so nice to have a tree up, it just makes me smile and it gives the whole house that holiday glow!
Saturday we took few family pictures. We haven't had a family picture since right before I got married so it was long overdue. My dad wanted us in our Sunday clothes so we all got dressed and ready for pictures. The pictures turned out all right, but most of them were a little too formal and posed for me. We didn't have alot of time to do them or to go anywhere exciting to take them so we just did it at our house.
Afterwards, I made everyone change and take a few in regular clothes. My favorite picture out of all of them is the one I captured while no one even knew I was taking pictures. Everyone is just being themselves and laughing about something (I am not even sure about what). The best part is that it includes my four favorite people, my family, the ones who will love me now matter what. Seeing this image just brings a big smile on my face, a sense of peace, a sense of home, a sense of love!
We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Dave and I are both aware of how much we have to be thankful for. We have been so blessed in our lives and throughout our marriage. This Thanksgiving were were especially thankful for a visit from family! Happy Thanksgiving!
Only in Arkansas...
Luckily I had my camera with me to capture this priceless picture... only in Arkansas would you find a limo in the parking lot of a dollar store!
Missing a Little Piece of Utah
As the weather has begun to change and the temperatures have finally dropped I have found myself missing a little piece of Utah. One of my favorite things to do during this time of year is to snuggle up with Dave while watching a movie and sipping on a wonderful mug of Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa.
I missed out on this wonderful experience last year, because we spent the fall/winter in Phoenix, and snuggling up while drinking hot chocolate just seemed wrong in such beautiful sunny weather. So this year my anticipation and excitement for Stephen's Hot Cocoa seemed to be even stronger. The unfortunate part is that they don't sell Stephen's over here in this part of the country. I guess since it originated and is made in Utah they only sell it in the West. Luckily, I have a VERY small stock pile of a few flavors that we moved with us to Arkansas. I am just hoping that it will be able to sustain us through the season here.
My favorite flavors are the French Vanilla (because most of you know I am not really a lover of chocolate... I know, it is just so un-lady like), Chocolate Raspberry, Mint Chocolate and the Wassail. So for all my friends and family in the West, please enjoy a nice big cup of Stephen's Hot Cocoa for me as it has become a much missed part for me of living in Utah! And for those of you who have never experienced Stephen's Hot Cocoa, I highly recommend that you find some and take part in all the goodness.
P.S. You can buy it by clicking on the following link; Stephen's Hot Cocoa.
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Sharing my story...
I am not very good at sharing my emotions with others, not to mention the fact that I am not really an emotional personal in general. I have this amazing capability of not being able to cry when I am in front of someone or to truly express what I would like to. But every once in a great while, in those personal and quite moments, when I am by myself, those flood gates seem to open. This week has been one of the more challenging weeks in my life and emotionally I needed some sort of outlet that I could express the way I felt. I started a new blog enititled "My Road to Motherhood", in hopes that it could be a place where I could do just that…“let it all out”.
Although my situation is very personal and detailed, if you have ever asked me about it you probably have found that I have no problem sharing my story. I have set this blog up (at least for the time being) as private and by invitation only. I have done this simply because I know not everyone is comfortable with this type of subject, but not because I mind sharing it with any and all that are interested.
My road to becoming a mother has become challenging and that road seems to have narrowed even more this week. The good news is that I am very “special”, the bad news is that it is not the way I would like to be “special”! If you are interested in learning of my road to motherhood and the personal struggles that I have faced, am facing, and will face, then please send me an email or comment on this post and I will certainly send you an invite. I have included the link below and I have also added it to my other blogs list at the bottom right corner.
Sushi with Cynthia
This weekend my cousin Cynthia came to visit me from Kansas City. We haven't seen each other in about a year so we were pretty excited! Growing up, she was like the sister I never had (we are only 3 months apart). And yes, on her summer visits to New Mexico, we frequently fought like sisters as well! But as we have both become older, we have grown very close.
One of our favorite traditions or activities that we like to do together is make sushi, it is also one of Dave's favorite things because he get to partake in all the goodness! Cynthia is an expert sushi maker! She has tried to teach me on many occasions and I just don't seem to get it! So usually she does the rolling and I do the cutting (when I roll them they look quit pitiful!).
We made two different kinds this time, California rolls and Philadelphia rolls! We thought you might enjoy the recipe, so here it is:
Norimaki (Seaweed Rolls) Ingredients
White Short-grain Sticky Rice (Botan is the best brand)
Onion Salt
Rice Wine Vinegar (very important, since "sushi" means vinegared rice)
Nori Sheets (Seaweed)
-for California Rolls
Crab (or imitation) Meat
Avocado Slices
Cucumber Slivers
-for Philadelphia Rolls
Salmon
Cream Cheese
Cucumber Slivers
I also like to add carrot slivers for color and crunch, and you can pretty much put in whatever you want!
To prepare, start by washing your rice. Fill the pan with water, swish it around with your hand, and then drain away all of the excess starch (this makes it sticky rice!) The ratio of water to add is just a little less than twice as much water to rice (ex. if I were cooking two cups of dry rice, I would add 3 and 3/4 cup water). Put the lid on and cook on high until the just before the water boils over, turn the heat down to medium for about 10 more minutes, and then turn the heat off, but don't remove the lid until it is finished cooking. Season the rice with vinegar and onion salt to taste (I sometimes add some toasted sesame oil as well). Place a sheet of seaweed shiny-side down on the bamboo roller and spread a two-grain layer of rice. Leave about a half-centimeter of just seaweed at the top. About an inch from the bottom, put a thin horizontal layer of whatever fillings you want (crab, cucumber, etc...) Roll it with the bamboo mat from the side closest to the fillings, and farthest from the end with no rice. Slice with a sharp knife, and wipe the knife frequently with a wet paper towel (wet with water and vegetable oil). Be prepared to wash your hands a LOT! Serve with soy sauce (Kikkoman is the best brand, but La Choy is gluten-free). For the adventurous, try adding small amounts of Japanese pickled ginger and Wasabi (very VERY hot, green horseradish).
To top off our Asian themed evening we ended the night by watching Kung Fu Panda! It was a very fun evening and it has been wonderful to have her in our home! She is our first over night guest in our new home. Thanks Cynth, for the excellent recipe and for the enjoyable visit. Read more...
At last...
{MUSE}
It has finally arrived! The official launching of Kara's design blog. I know many of you have been asking for this for months now, and well, I finally got the courage to start it. It will have many features (all of which I describe in the first post) that I hope will help inspire you. So here is your chance to ask me all the design questions in the world, free of charge :). Please check it out...
http://musebykara.blogspot.com/
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