They call it The Windy City...

And now I know why




it was a little breezy last night. Now that I think of it; I have NEVER seen laundry on a line to dry here in Chicago...

Dyson Hand Dryer

I discovered a new hand dryer. This is nothing like the usual ones found in public restrooms where you have to hit the start button two or three times and still end up with a spot or two that are still wet. No-siree, this one works!

You dip your hands into it,holding them straight with the palms toward you; then slowly raise them up and out of the dryer. The force is rather strong and not too warm. When you reach the top; your hands are dry...all over.

Here's what it looks like

Biaggi's Italian Ristorante after-concert Celebration

We got together with Steve and Kashia for a great dinner at Biaggi's after the concert. This is hands down one of the best Italian restaurants in the area (surprisingly it is a chain and is found in several states)
Here are the pictures of our selections

Shrimp and Crab Cannelloni
Spinach pasta filled with crabmeat, shrimp, ricotta cheese and fresh spinach; baked in rich lobster tomato cream sauce. It was divine!

Crusted Tilapia over linguine with a light tomato sauce
Ravioli Quattro Formaggi
Homemade ravioli filled with a lend of ricotta, parmasan, romano, and blue cheese; tossed in a four cheese cream sauce touched with basil and pine nut pesto over fresh tomato sauce
Capellini Del Mare
Angel hair pasta, large shrimp. scallops, and calamari sauteed in a spicy tomato-vegetable sauce; topped with mussels and little neck clams

Christmas in the Village Concert

Today was another 'first' to add to my list of "wow I never thought I'd being doing that!" I joined a choral group in October, a first. It was not without its scary moments either. I was always pretty darn proud of the way I could sing...usually in the shower and a bucket nearby to carry that tune...
Anyway, it was always in the privacy of my own mind and as such it gave me pleasure. But this was different; one has to be in tune with the (I can't believe I had to look it up!) voice in this four part chorus. Mine is the second highest...alto. That is when I found out the 'voice' I had been using was much lower than it should have been. My first night of practice garnered several looks with raised eyebrows, but what the heck, this is supposed to be fun. I was fortunate enough to get some private lessons from the choir director, she helped me "find my voice" and today we gave the Christmas concert that we had all been practicing for so hard.

It was a wonderful performance...no, I did not get it right all the time, yes I made many mistakes, but I think no one knew (except the few around me!) and a good time was had by all. Here are a couple of shots of the event:

Cookies again!

I tried again to make Polish Kolatchkies...they still oozed out all over the pan but this time it was a little less messy. I asked a friend about it and she said she stopped pinching them; she just makes them like a thumbprint cookie and has no mess. Well, I guess I will have to try that on my next attempt!

Crunchy Orange Roughy

So, I stumbled upon this really great recipe for crunchy fish that is not all greasy and really bad for you; I tucked it away in my little pile of "I'll get to these one of these days". Yesterday I was in Trader Joes, this is a great place to get frozen fish because you can SEE what you are getting...all the packages are clear plastic and all fillets are visible. (I would NEVER buy frozen fish when I lived in New Jersey but here in the Midwest fresh fish is significantly more expensive than the best steaks...so, now I buy frozen)I found some good sized fillets of Orange Roughy and thought I would try that new recipe.

It starts with four slices of bread run through the processor (I used a blender) to get pea sized chunks or smaller, put them in a bowl and stir in about 2 tablespoons of butter/margarine (I have been using Smart Balance lately; tastes great and is 50% healthy for you ;-) )I also added some of my favorite herbs Oregano, Basil and Garlic Powder. Then spread them on a baking sheet and pop into a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or so. I guess I should add that since I had made bread over the weekend, I used that and the crumbs were fantastic!

Once the crumbs are ready, it is time to prepare the batter for the fish. I did not get the exact measurements for this, but here's what I used and it was very, very good:
2 eggs
2-3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of horseradish
various spices --paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper
whisk all this together and then add about a tablespoon or more of flour until you have a nice pancake-like batter.

OK, you are now ready to prepare the best fish EVER!

Take the 1 inch thick fillets, blot them dry with a paper towel...this is important to keep the results crunchy but moist.

Then dust in flour and shake off the excess, dip into the batter and then place on the crumbs and pile them on top with your hands. When the fish is coated place the fillets in an oiled ridged oven roasting pan and into a 425 degree oven for 10 to 20 minutes. The internal temperature should reach 140 degrees.

I apologize for the mediocre picture...I had already started eating it before I knew how good it was so the picture is nowhere as good looking as the whole plated fillet.

Follow-up on Gift

Well, I finally finished the gift that I was making for a very special person. I wanted to make a scarf (if you recall) before M&M took off with my project after I had already sunk at least ten hours into it and rendering it trash. I went on the hunt for a simpler pattern and found one. It was so simple that I was afraid that it wouldn't have any "personality" when I was finished but it did.

I found some really nice alpaca and cashmere wool and made the scarf. It was a muted shade of blue; nice but something inside was saying: "This will not look great" on my intended recipient. Here is the first one






It is a very nice scarf but it just doesn't work for who I want to give it to. She wears a lot of black and I saw her the other day in a salt and pepper sweatshirt and that's when I knew I needed to make a black and white scarf. I found just the right angora feeling wool and went to work.

Here's the final product all wrapped up. Leave it to me to wrap it up BEFORE I took a picture of it.




Here it is on intended recipient I think it was a good choice!



Chuck became the proud owner of my first success!