Thursday Things

1)     That taco dip up there? Bananas. And typing that made me realize it might sound like the taco dip was made from bananas. Which made me a little queasy. But don’t worry! That’s totally not taco dip made from bananas (eww, seriously, just stop). It’s made with plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and it is oh-so tasty. Trust me.

2)     I made one of the best discoveries of the internet in a long time at work the other day: A SOCK OF THE MONTH CLUB. Yes. Besides being in love with the concept, the name of the club, Foot Cardigan, is brilliant. (Clearly, my work study job is incredibly taxing.)

3)     Julie wrote a wonderful post about spelling bees, which I can relate to all too well (this Catholic School kid got out on the word rosary…yep…). Even now, there are words that I would mess up constantly if it weren’t for spell check: unnecessary, apologize, every time, assignment. The list goes on. Sometimes I add extra letters, sometimes I reverse them, sometimes I make two words into one. Yay, college.

4)     I always knew Kevin Gnapoor was going places.

5)     This is a beaver. Waving at a child. Cue cuteness.

6)     I was unaware that Parenthood was an abreviated abrreviated abbreveated abbreviated season so I watched the last episode not thinking much of it and was left HANGING OFF THE EDGE OF A CLIFF. Get it together NBC.

7)     The 12 Habits of Happy People. Things to work on.

8)     I wore the heck out of Jelly Shoes back in the day. Pink and sparkly was my drug of choice. And I am SO FLIPPIN’ EXCITED that they’re coming back in style. Yusssss.

9)     I’m sorry for the all the CAPS LOCK. I’m just really excited (my world has become very small).

10)   This is going to sound uber weird, but is it possible to wake yourself up from your own snoring? Is that a thing? I think it might be. The other night I was nodding off and heard snoring and jolted awake. The snoring stopped. And I remembered I don’t have roommates. And then I realized…it was me. I had been snoring. And woken myself up. My life. 

Triple Nut Browned Butter Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

It’s happening. Oh…it’s happening. (Quick! Name that movie!)

These cookies were a long time in the making, like, last year long time. They have been nagging me since the first time I made them before Christmas. And the second time when I made them at Christmas. Finally (and I mean FINALLY), the third time I made them, I got them right.

And how did I get them right?

I added more butter. More browned butter. And then ice cream.

Cornmeal & Bacon Flapjacks with Cranberry Syrup

This entire weekend conspired against me to make pancakes. I’m serious.

First, my best friend was visiting me from WI. She is nothing if not the pancake queen. They’re really the only food she knows how to, or enjoys, making. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack. If I ask what she wants, the answer will be “pancakes.”

 

Second, we watched 50/50. I absolutely obsessed with the movie because of the storyline, characters, humor, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Umm, hello? Have we met?) and cannot stop watching it. The retired greyhound dog Skeletor also helps. He’s too cute.

Aaaaaanyways, back to pancakes. There’s a scene where Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character is hopped up on morophine and is delightfully unfiltered. When his love interest comes to visit he’s all cute, lying in the hospital bed, woozy and delirious and looks at her with this adorable expression as says “I wanna make you pancakes.”

That’s it. Just a simple desire to make the woman he cares for pancakes.

Thursday Things

1)     I can barely say the name of Manny’s site, but Gastrofotonomia is worth a look! Those pictures? Ridonkulus. 

2)     Regina George’s Laptop. HA! All the credit for this goes to Jess.

3)     At what age is one too old to be eating Disney Princess Vitamins? Just curious…

4)     To balance out the childishness of the vitamins I’ve been acting like an adult (sort-of) and doing my homework. I’ve had class for four days and have done homework three of them! I think that’s more than last quarter’s work combined. Look at me, being all responsible and whatnot. 

5)     It helps that these books are technically part of my homework.

6)     And these magazines.

7)     I got flannel sheets over break since my apartment turns into an expensive refrigerator over night and figured they would keep me warm. I mainly got them for the snowflake print (typical). I have bad memories of trying to sleep in flannel sheets as a child and feeling like I was wrapped in really warm sandpaper. I was an idiot as a child. Flannel sheets are da best. I’ve also started wearing flannel pajamas to really put the comfort factor over the top, static electricity notwithstanding. 

8)     My beautiful, wonderful best friend from home is coming to visit this weekend! Having friends with varying break schedules is one of the few bonuses of the quarter system.

9)     How is it that nearly every shirt I want to wear suddenly has a stain on it? Some are identifiable (like coffee) and some aren’t (I don’t even want to know), but they’re all frustrating. Thank goodness my momma got me a kick butt shirt for Christmas.

10)   Think the word “asbestos” wouldn’t work in a song? Think again. Old Blue Eyes some how made it work. 

Cranberry & Gorgonzola Crostini with Balsamic Drizzle

I knew it would happen eventually. The day was going to come when I ran out of Christmas cookies. Sadly, that day came all too soon this year (or, last year, I guess…since it was 2012. Woa).

I was still on winter break when the last bits of frosting and broken crumbs disappeared. The well had dried up. I was out of cookies. Meaning I was out of breakfast. I needed a new sugar fix, and I needed it fast. I couldn’t just stop consuming unnecessary amounts of sugar first thing in the morning. I’m not a barbarian.

So, I started making cinnamon sugar toast. In massive quantities. Every day. I really and truly was going through bread at an alarming rate.  But somehow, on the day I came back to school, there was still half a loaf of whole wheat French bread sitting on the counter (because the whole wheat goodness totally makes cinnamon sugar toast a health food, it’s science). My dad wasn’t going to eat it, so I brought it back to school.

But now, in my apartment, with no cinnamon sugar shaker premixed or softened butter in a dish next to the toaster, I can’t really justify making cinnamon sugar toast for breakfast every day of the week. So I had to find something else to do with the bread. Something as equally simple and quick as cinnamon sugar toast, but a tad healthier.

Thursday Things

1)     Grandma and I got all kinds of Southern the other day and made shrimp n grits. And then I ate myself silly. Frying the shrimp in bacon grease? A revelation. 

2)     I’ve reached a new low in Google searching. I’m desperate to know what song is playing during the preview for Broken City. It’s got the catchiest beat. Only problem is…there are no discernible lyrics, just kinda noises and half words. I attempted to find out song by typing in “heyeyey ohoh uhuh song lyrics.” It didn’t work.

3)     I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority here but I adore the banana flavored Runts candies. And banana Laffy Taffy. They’ve always been my sister’s and my favorite, to the point where our dad hid them on us until all the less appealing flavors were gone.

4)     I scored “Inception,” “The Town,” and “50/50” on DVD yesterday all for less than $20. This is just going to feed my JGL (that’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt for those out of the loop) obsession. Wonderful.

5)     Watching “Premium Rush” helped too. So.many.movies.

6)     Truth.

7)     They better come out with a women’s version of these. And soon. I’ve got an internship to prepare for.

8)     The Quick Descent Into TV Show Addiction.

9)     Trying to come up with items for this weeks list is a painful reminder of a) how I have to go back to school on Sunday, b) how incredibly boring I am, (like I didn’t already know that when I was in bed by 10:30 on NYE.) Sorry folks.  

Pear & Mixed Green Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

“What kind of dressing do you have?”

“Well, we’ve got 1000 island, balsamic vnaigrette, blue cheese, French, ranch, honey mustard, Caesar, parmesan peppercorn, and our house Italian,” I rattle off from memory. Over and over and over again. Inevitably the customer gets 1000 island on their side salad (eww, btw) but only tells me after I’m out of breath from reciting the list. Sometimes, they ask twice before making a decision. Why we don’t have our dressings listed on the menu is beyond me. Drives me bonkers.

And has kind of turned me off of salad dressing. Forget that from the ages of 4 to 14 I assumed any sort of vegetable was just a vehicle for ranch dressing. Now, I normally just do a little balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper on my salads. Sometimes, if I’m feeling funky I’ll do an avocado or salsa.

But, now I’ve got a new go-to salad dressing. And go-to salad. This Pear and Mixed Green Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette is filling but fresh, a perfect way to ring in the New Year. A fresh cranberry vinaigrette dresses a simple salad of mixed greens, red onion, bacon crumbles, pear, and blue cheese. Salty, tart, sweet, crunchy, creamy. Phenomenal.