Fun In The Kitchen

Since I am working in town (instead of the slope) for most of January, I am taking advantage of the weekends to cook! I love trying new recipes! Here are some things I made that turned out pretty dang good :)

Fish cakes getting firm in the freezer...

Finished product- yum!

Asian spices for Pho broth...

Ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, and cloves...

Voila- my first bowl of Pho :)

Poached halibut with a homemade pesto- yummo

My first try at moussaka; turned out pretty good!! I was stoked that I got a

"thumbs-up" from one of my friends that used to work at a Greek restaurant- YES!!

Christmas Morning

What an incredible Christmas Eve this year! I don't think I was hungry once on Christmas lol- I was still full from all the treats from the night before! However, Santa did pay us a little visit...

Awww :)

Well friends & loved ones, this concludes my 2012 Christmas posts. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season this (I mean last) year! Happy New Year! Hope everyone has a blessed 2013. I know I have a lot to be thankful for- all my readers, friends, & family included :)

Christmas Eve At The Daigle House

Whew! I was so glad when we (Colin, Genna, Bear, & I) made it to my dad's house! I was white-knuckling it the whole way from Jacksonville to Orlando following my brother on the highway lol! Traffic was pretty busy and it was hard not to get cut-off by all the people driving to visit their families... I think my blood pressure definitely was up a few points for those hours haha. But the payoff was worth it for sure. We all had a great Christmas Eve together; it was so nice to be with family, and the food, drinks, and cute decorations definitely kept the spirit bright :)

Colin & my dad chilling out on the patio

Dining room with place settings ready to go

Dad & Reina slaving away in the kitchen ;)

Whoa- a quadruple boch ale from the beer connoisseur's fridge...

Dad & Bear playing in the kitchen- too funny

Colin, Dad, & I

All the "kids"

Genna & Fabiola (my stepsister) sneaking a little chocolate goodness

Mr. & Mrs. Claus- I mean my dad & Reina overseeing the gift-giving ;)

Presents, presents, & more presents...

Aww- Colin & Genna :)

Christmas Eve Morning

Now that Colin, Genna, & I had gotten some sleep after our late-night cooking marathon, it was almost time for us all to drive to my dad's house in Orlando for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day with the rest of the family. However, Colin & Genna decided to open their presents from one another before we hit the road...

Ooh- Genna got a new laptop from Colin since she's starting school soon :)

Haha! Genna got Colin an awesome new coffee mug

And a new rifle!

Bear (the dog) wanted in on the action lol

Aww- he got a special squirrel-shaped doggy treat from MT; he liked it ;)

Kitchen Time!

Everyone was full after the trip to Gumbo Ya-Ya's, so we settled down in my brother's living room and watched Dirty Harry while we digested... It was the first time I'd seen it- good movie :) Not to mention it helped pass the time of being almost miserably full quite nicely haha. Digestion complete, we all rallied to make some goodies to bring back to my dad's place in Orlando the next day... Genna's family has taught her to make some delicious Indonesian food, so Colin & I helped her make loempias. And after that, we helped her make some homemade toffee- yum!

Colin & Genna working on the loempia filling

Pouring melty goodness on the cookie tray

Step 2: chocolate topping- my fave!

And finally, some chopped walnuts (you know, to make it healthy!)

A Little Sightseeing In Jax

Now that I got to see where my brother works, I got to see a little more of the town...

Our first stop was Safe Harbor Seafood to pick up some shrimp for later

Yum! And incredible prices to boot!

Cool hangout spot with good burgers (so I'm told)

The Christmas Tree at Jacksonville Landing

Jax Landing; a little quiet this weekend, but still cool

My brother's favorite little Cajun spot

Holy monster mufaletta!

Man v.s. food... who will prevail??? Man! I can't believe Colin could eat all that lol

Sinful but yummy bread pudding for desert ;)

Boat Tour

After a good breakfast- curtesy of my brother- Colin, Genna, & I piled in their car and set off for the Coast Guard boat my brother works on. I got a great insider tour :)

My brother's a cute tour guide hehe

Colin & I up at the control center- good times