It's here...the very last day of 2009

It's hard to believe that 2009 is just 10 short hours from being nothing but a memory. 2009 has been quite eventful. It seems like each year goes by a little faster than the last one. It's scary at times but I think that this New Year is the one I'm most excited for. I've been waiting for 2010 since the Mr. and I set our wedding date and I can't wait for it to get here!

I wish everyone safe and happy New Year's Eve celebrations. Ring in the new year with the one's you love. Leave the bad behind and bring the good with you. May the best days of 2009 be the worst of 2010 and may you enjoy every second of the upcoming year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Supporting a Friend

One of my very good childhood friends fourteen-month old daughter was recently diagnosed with Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (“AHC”). Only about 400 people in the world have been diagnosed with this disease and therefore there is very limited funding devoted to researching this condition, and possible treatments for a cure.

When I learned of my friend’s daughters condition, it hit home, and hard. You always hear on the radio, or see on TV, these people who have children that suffer from these kinds of conditions. While my heart always goes out to them, when those people are your friends, the feeling is multiplied tenfold.

My friend’s sister has devoted herself to a mission called “Running for Del”. She has committed to running 1000 miles from January 1, 2010 until October 21, 2010 to help raise awareness about AHC. She has started a blog so that supporters can follow along with her on her journey beginning in just 4 days and learn more about AHC.

Please check out her blog for more information. If you have the means to make a donation to help this cause, please do so. If you don’t, please at least take a few moments to read her blog and learn a little more about Delaney, Gara, and AHC. Knowledge is power!

www.runningfordel.com

Florentines

While we were on vacation in Florida this past week, I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian. I love Giada DeLaurentiis and she always makes such yummy looking goodies I really wanted to try this one. (Nevermind the fact that I was in FLORIDA and I was INSIDE watching FOOD NETWORK lol). So, since we are going to The Mr's parents house tomorrow for Christmas, I decided I was going to try to make the Florentines in addition to the green bean casserole I already promised to bring.

The original recipe can be found here. I did make a few minor adjustments based on reader's reviews on the website, and I think that mine came out perfect so I am listing the recipe as I made it.

One word of warning, this is NOT a quick recipe. It took me a little over 2 hours from start to finish so if you're looking for a quick and easy cookie recipe, this isn't the one for you. But, let me say that they are well worth every bit of time and effort.

• 2 cups sliced almonds (chopped, and roasted on a baking sheet for approx 6 minutes at 325 degrees)
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 8 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips (you could use dark chocolate too)
• Silicone baking mat (silpat) or parchment paper
  
  

1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees.



2. Line baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper (I used parchment and sprayed it with Pam just to be safe)



3. In a medium size bowl, stir together almonds, flour, and orange zest until all almonds are coated with flour and the zest is incorporated well.



4. Set that bowl aside and in a small saucepan, stir together butter, sugar, honey and whipping cream over medium heat until sugar dissolves.



5. Bring the mixture to a boil very briefly and then remove from heat and let the mixture settle down (it will be a bit frothy from boiling)



6. Once the froth goes down, pour the butter/sugar/honey/cream mixture over the almond mixture and mix well with a fork or rubber spatula.



7. Cover bowl and put in the fridge for one hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until the mixture is completely cooled (and it will thicken considerably as it cools).



8. Once the mixture is cooled completely, drop six 1-tsp sized balls of batter onto the lined cookie sheet. NOTE: It is VERY important that you only put 6 balls onto the cookie sheet and make sure that they are set very far apart as the mixture will spread like crazy as it bakes.



9. Flatten down the balls into flat 'saucer' shapes, they should be a little larger than a quarter. (doesn't look like much but believe me, you will be surprised when they come out).



10. Bake at 325 for 7 minutes (oven times may vary. it is important to keep an eye on these because one minute can make or break your batch, they burn very quickly).



11. When the edges of the cookies are caramel colored (in my oven, 7 min) remove from oven and immediately use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to pull in and reshape the cookies (they will have spread very thin, you'll need to pull them in so that you can handle them without breaking them).



12. Once you've reshaped the cookies, slide the parchment off of the baking sheet and allow the cookies to cool (on the paper) on the counter for about 5 minutes, then move the entire paper (without removing cookies) to a cooling rack.



13. After the cookies have cooled on the paper on the rack (about 5 more minutes), slowly and carefully peel them off of the parchment. (I slid the parchment off of the edge of the cooling rack, allowing the cookies to come off without me having to pull them or scrape them off).



14. Transfer cookies to a layer of paper towel to absorb the excess butter from the bottom of the cookies.



15. Cover with another paper towel to absorb the additional butter from the top of the cookies.



16. Repeat steps 8-15 until you have made all of your cookies.



17. Once all cookies are cooled on paper towel, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler (or glass bowl over a pot of simmering water) until melted.



18. Using the back of a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, "paint" the bottom side of a cookie with chocolate and place it face down on the paper towel.



19. Take another cookie and place it (bottom side down) on top of the chocolate painted cookie to make a 'sandwich'



20. Continue making cookie sandwiches until all cookies are put together.



21. Transfer to a cookie sheet or other platter and allow to cool (either on the countertop or in the refridgerator).

Whew, that's it. I know, there's a lot of steps. I do admit that this is a very labor intensive recipe but trust me, it is so worth it. They taste fantastic and are very pretty. They definitely have a "wow" factor to them.

Enjoy!!

Dress....check!

Well, I did it...I said YES to a dress yesterday!! A wedding dress that is! My mom and I spent the entire day dress shopping for my wedding gown and after 3 1/2 stores (I'll explain later), 50+ dresses, and far too much pulling, tugging, squeezing, tucking, and grunting, I finally found "the one" and I couldnt' be happier!

Of course I'm not posting a picture of it here, in case the Mr. is browsing, but I'll be sharing a pic with my girls on TK soon. (they'll kill me if I don't! lol)

I found the dress at the 2nd store of the day, Dior Bridal in Dearborn. It was the 2nd dress I tried on there. I tried on a ton more, and then put that one back on last...and I still loved it the best. I still had another appointment at another shop where I had ordered a specific dress to be shipped there for me to try on (I had fallen in love with it online) so I knew I couldn't pick the one at Dior without trying that one on first. So, we left Dior, had lunch, and headed down to Trenton. Honestly, I wasn't even excited anymore. The dress that I had shipped didn't match the style of dress that I had been loving 'on me' in the stores. So, I was apprehensive but I knew I had to try it (considering I paid to have it shipped). I tried it on and I was not happy. I didn't like the coloring, the fit, or the fabric. There was one part that I did really like but there was far more that I didn't. I couldn't get the dress from Dior out of my head so I asked my mom if we could go back (20 miles in the other direction) and see it again. She was willing, so we did. Luckily when we got back, my consultant was still there and there was only 1 other bride in the store so I was able to try the dress on again and when I did, it just felt right. I knew that I wasn't going to find anything that I liked as much as this one....this was "the one". We put down the deposit and I will order the dress in January. I am extremely excited!!!

I didn't cry, and I didn't get that 'feeling' that people say they get when they try on the dress. But, I didn't expect to so I'm not worried. I cry over everything, except the things that I think are going to make me cry...so this is normal for me lol.

Now the real work begins...more weight loss and oh boy do I need to tone up my arms and back for this. I guess a little extra motivation never hurt anyone right?!

Guy Fieri is comin' to town!

The Mr. and I are going downtown to the Masonic Temple tonight to see Guy Fieri's Roadshow. We are both avid watchers of the Food Network and LOVE Guy Fieri so when I heard that he was doing a road show, and coming to Detroit, I knew we had to be there! I've seen a video clip of the show and it looks like it's going to be a really good time!!

You can find an article about the show from The Freep here and event details here

10 Months from Today!

I will be getting mmmarrrriiieeedd!!!

I know, 10 months is still a long way away (304 days to be exact), but every time we hit a milestone, I get super excited! I can't wait to say our "I Do's" and start the next chapter of our lives together.

And if you're wondering if I'm going to post one of these every month from now until the big day gets here...the answer is yes.