Best. Dinner. Ever.

I highly recommend you make this dinner.  Every single part of it.  Start to finish.  The flavors of each individual dish were perfectly matched with each other.  This was our New Year's Eve dinner.  What a way to end 2012.  So, on our menu was filet mignon, creamy onion blue cheese steak sauce, mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, and homemade bread.

Let's start with the steaks.  This was a Barefoot Contessa recipe using a cast iron skillet.  There were 17 reviews for this recipe.  I read them all.  So many of these reviewers said they'll never grill a steak again.   Searing it in the skillet to form a crust, then putting in the oven for just a few minutes was amazing.  Make a filet like this sometime.  I beg you!  Here's the recipe:

Barefoot Contessa's Steakhouse Steaks

Now the sauce.  I watched the Pioneer Woman make this steak sauce once on her show and I haven't truly forgotten it since.  I'm not even a huge blue cheese fan, but you HAVE to make this sauce sometime.  It was so delicious and a perfect addition to the steak or the potatoes.  Here's the recipe:

Pioneer Woman's Onion Blue Cheese Sauce

Mashed potatoes.  A favorite of mine.  These weren't just any potatoes.  This was also curtesy of the Pioneer Woman.  Only she can add butter and cream cheese in her mashed potatoes.  They were amazing.  I actually only used one stick of butter instead of 1 1/2 to 2, as the recipe suggests.  Believe me, these were decadent.  Here's the recipe:

Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes

The bread has quickly become a favorite recipe of mine since the development of Pinterest.  I have probably made this bread 10 times so far.  It is SOOOOOO easy.  I can't stress that enough.  And...I bet you probably have the ingredients already in your pantry.  The only catch is that you have to have a Le Crueset cast iron dutch oven.  Well, I suppose it doesn't have to be Le Crueset.  It does have to be cast iron though.  When you take the cover off your pot 30 minutes into the process, you will not believe your eyes.  Can bread be beautiful?  I think so!  Here's the recipe:

Crusty Bread

And finally the Caesar Salad.  This was my brother's recipe.  I always call it "Bryan's Caesar Salad recipe.  You know, the one with the hard boiled egg in it?"  Turns out, he says, it's really Fannie Farmer's recipe.  I can't find the recipe anywhere online.  So here it is:

1 hard boiled egg
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/4 c. olive oil
juice from a lemon
couple squirts of Worcestershire sauce
salt/pepper

Put all ingredients in a blender and viola!  Just add romaine, croutons, and shaved parmesan.


Okay.  This post was dedicated to all the other foodies out there.  If you're not one, I apologize.  You probably didn't read past the first sentence.   No hard feelings.

New Year's Eve Cookies? Ok!

I've never been a huge fan of New Year's Eve.  Sure...we had some fun ones, especially when Frank was gigging it up somewhere.  But, in general, I'd much rather have a night at home with friends or family.  That's what we're doing this year.  My parents, brother, and nephews will be coming over for a steakhouse dinner and game night.  I'm sure Frank would rather be on a stage somewhere, but I'm pretty content just staying home.  We decided to have a fantastic dinner that would normally cost a fortune at a steakhouse and wouldn't taste nearly as good.  We're making Ina Garten's Steakhouse Steaks, Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes and creamy onion blue cheese steak sauce, homemade Caesar salad, homemade bread, and NYE cookies.  The last part I made up. :)  I bought all the ingredients to make these fabulous Christmas cookies I got last year as a gift.  It turned out that we had so many goodies around the house that I didn't need to make them.  So....I turned them into NYE cookies.  Instead of dying the swirl red or green, I chose yellow.  And instead of red and green sprinkles, I chose multicolored!  Ta-da....that is how you make a NYE cookie!  I will slice and cook them tomorrow then blog about our dinner again soon.

If you want the recipe for these delicious NYE cookies.....click below!

colorful swirl cookie recipe

P.S. - I love that there is subway tile in the background of my food pics now! :)

Merry Christmas!

I've been a horrible blogger lately.  This house "project" has consumed me.  I'm loving it though!  I'm currently working on our master bedroom.  We bought the bed last week, got the bedding yesterday, ordered the curtains from West Elm today, and meeting a guy that is making our nightstands tomorrow!  Merry Christmas to me!  Seriously!!  As soon as it's all put together I will definitely blog about it! 

So....here are a few pictures from our Christmas this year.  It was a great first Christmas in this house.  It has proven to be cozy.  This is a pic of Vivi standing in front of the tree right before we left for mass at Christ the King.  Her Nana got her that dress for her birthday.  So pretty!

Here we are...the Arnolds!  This was after mass and right before we ate dinner.  I got busy in the kitchen as soon as we got home.  I made Giada's fettucini alfredo.  If you're an alfredo fan, like myself, you've got to try this recipe.  You can find it by searching on foodnetwork.com.   I only make it on special occasions because it is filled with heavy whipping cream and butter...but so delicious!

And here is what my kitchen looked like after I cooked.  It was such a mess that I thought it deserved a picture.  It took us two days to clean it all up!  Instead of cleaning Christmas Eve, we decided to have White Russians by the fire instead. ;)

Christmas morning!  Vivi checking out her presents!  Blankie and messy hair in tow!

This picture captures it all.  Check out the onsie from Grandma.  So cute and cozy!  And that hair!  She's had a huge tangle in her hair after every nap and every morning!  It's becoming quite a chore.  Almost all of Vivi's presents this year had to do with food.  She got a shopping cart, a little kitchen, pretend food, pots and pans, dishes....you name it, she got it!  She's one lucky little girl.

This was in the car on the way to Grandma's house.  Is she a happy girl or what?!?

Merry Christmas!!!!

So Glad I Went With My Gut....

The subway tile is in and I LOVE it!!!  I'm so glad I went with my gut, because it was right this time.  Frank even admits it too.  (I told you so!) ;)  I wish I had some pictures of the kitchen when we first moved in.  The previous owner had under-cabinet lighting, but had a white plug coming down in four different spots from the light to the plug.  It looked really tacky.  Not sure why anyone would do that?!?      Anyway, we spent about $250 for an electrician to properly install the lighting and attach it to one switch.  These are the before tile and after electrician pictures.

They purposely didn't repair the walls too much when they cut into them because they knew that we were going to put tile on it.  I stared at a cut sheetrock wall for about two weeks waiting on a tile guy to call me back.  When he didn't call back the second time I called, I called elsewhere.  The guys I found were able to do it the next day!  Now, that's what I'm talking about!

This was after the tile guys tiled.  They had to grout the next day.  I started second guessing my grout decision too.  I liked how you could see the dark between the tile and wasn't sure the white grout I picked would look good.  But...I went with my gut again, and the help my hubs and BFF, and stuck with the white.  

And here it is!  Have I mentioned that I LOVE it?!!?

Here's an up-close-and-personal pic.  I can't stop staring at it!

We still have a couple of minor things to do left.  We have to repair the wall to the left of the toaster where we pulled out the piece of granite.  Then we'll paint it the wall color.  I also want to take down the white blinds on the kitchen window.  I know that they are just fine and fit perfectly and probably weren't cheap.  However, I want to put a half-window curtain there like I had in my old house.  I like that in a kitchen.  I just need to find a good fabric.  I also think we're going to install some pendant lights above the island instead of canned lights and get a  globe chandelier for the dining room attached to the kitchen.  Still a work in progress, but SOOOOO nice already.  We spent about $150 on tile and grout (from Lowes, believe it or not!) and $350 on labor.  So, for roughly $750 we changed the entire look of our kitchen.  I can't wait to make some Christmas cookies!

Bring on the subway tile...

It's happening.  Subway tile is going up in my kitchen tomorrow afternoon.  I cannot wait!  I hope it looks as good as I imagine it in my head.  My husband's been making me second guess my decision about the tile, because that is what he usually does with decisions, and now I'm a little bit nervous!  But I've got to go with my gut here.  I will post some before and after pics as soon as it's finished!

Happy Birthday Vivi!

It's official...Vivi is 2!!!  We had a great birthday weekend filled with family, presents, and cake!  We didn't have the big party like last year.  I decided that I want Vivi's birthdays to be family celebrations until she's older.  Not to mention that we kind of had a lot going on lately.  Not only did we just move, but we also ended up hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house since my parents were sick.  I really loved it, but it was a lot of work.  Here's a picture of Vivi with her prized possession....her baby stroller from her cousins Drew and Brady.  She is in heaven pushing this around.  That was always the first toy she headed for at her friend Josie's house.  Now she has her own!

We went to our new Reasor's, (which is amazing, by the way....I LOVE a good grocery store) the morning of her birthday party to pick up some last minute items.  We bought pink plates, striped napkins, and a balloon.  She was so happy that I had to just stop and take a picture of her in the middle of the store!  She held those pink plates the whole way home in the car.

I made the most amazing birthday cake.  My mom always made us homemade birthday cakes every year and I am going to do the same for Vivi.  This was the start of the snickerdoodle cake with brown sugar cinnamon buttercream frosting.  BUTTERcream....lots of butter.....but so, so good.

Delicious!  Want the recipe?  Click here:  Snickerdoodle Cake

I've never made a 4 layer cake before, but it really wasn't that difficult.

Vivi got some good presents this year...right up her alley.  She got a doll house that has a potty in it too....all the rage among the kiddos.  She got a radio flyer bike and stroller from her cousins, a pretty dress and purse, an alphabet puzzle, a new baby doll, counting elephants, cooking toys, bath crayons, and most importantly.....money for college.  ;)  She's one happy little girl!

Silly cousins!

Happy Birthday Vivi Grace Arnold!  We love you SOOOOOO much!

Good Bye Little House

Well....it's official.  We moved this week.  It was a very bittersweet experience.  I loved my little house. I can remember when I bought it thinking I would live there forever....and I really meant it.  I can remember having a conversation with my mom saying that I really could live in that house forever.  Her response was that most people live in their homes an average of 7 years.  Well, seven years later, almost to the month, and I moved.  We moved.  We just outgrew the house.  This is the house Frank and I lived in when we got married.  This was Vivi's first house.  We have so many good memories.  The good news is we still own this house.  It will make someone a great rent house.  I just hope they love it like we did.

I'm now sitting in my new house writing this post.  I feel like we live in a mansion even though it's 2,200 square feet.  Our two year house hunt has made us REALLY appreciate this house.  It is so spacious and roomy and nice and new and clean.....  And the kitchen....oh my gosh.  I love my gas stove, my dishwasher, my awesome faucet.  I love my pantry!  How did I live so long without a pantry?!  Vivi has even gotten lost a time or two.  It's hilarious!  We've already started a few home improvements, although it's all cosmetic.  We had a painter come in and paint Vivi's room and the master bedroom.  Good bye lime green!  We had an electrician install under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen and hopefully the tile guy can do our new subway tile backsplash next week.  I will be posting many pictures in the future, but I just can't do it today.  I have to pay homage to my old love.

Good bye little house...we'll miss you....