Desean Jackson Punt Return TD for Eagles Win vs Giants 12/19/2010

Sunday Night Dinner Party

Chef George has been busy all day preparing tonight dinner and everything smells excellent I can’t wait to taste. We are starting out with Oysters on the half shell along with my favorite champagne Veuve Clicquit.  The dinner menu is Beef Wellington with red wine sauce with truffle butter, Yam gratin with gruyere, and roasted Brussels sprouts with apple wood smoked bacon. The wines that will accompany the meal will be a 1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc from St. Emilion France.  Cheval is one of my favorites as well.   A 1985 Gevrey Chambertin Burgundy , and a 1999 Colgin Cabernet  Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard.  
  
  More to come ......   Recipes are listed in the comments if anyone wants to try any of these. If you do please be sure to let me know how you enjoyed them. 

Chicken, Cashew and Vegetable Stir-fry

Colorful in-season vegetables provide plenty of nutrients. Plus its quick,easy, and delicious.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup quick-cooking brown rice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon peanut (or sesame) oil
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow squash, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup chopped cashews

Preparation

1. Cook rice as directed on package (omit added fat). Dissolve cornstarch in broth in a bowl; stir in hoisin and soy sauce; set aside. Toss ginger, garlic and chicken in another bowl. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat; cook chicken until nearly cooked through, 4 minutes. Add zucchini, squash and pepper; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add reserved sauce; cook, stirring until sauce is thick, 2 minutes. Add nuts. Serve over rice.

The skinny

463 calories per serving, 12.4 g fat (2.4 g saturated), 53.3 g carbs, 3.9 g fiber, 35.1 g protein

Cooked this up last night for dinner from Self Magazine and it is really good. We did add a little hot sauce just to give it a kick. The kids thought we ordered take out. They loved it as well. 

A week of wonderful Beers!!

  This week seems to be about the holidays and beer. Saturday we went to Monk’s Café in Philadelphia to try some of the wonderful beers they have on tap. We had heard about this place for a while and it’s rated one of the top places for beer. So off went. When we arrived we were a bit surprised at how small the place actually was. There is a small bar in the front with a few tables than another bar in the back also not very large. But all the different beers on tap and in bottles certainly made up for size. 

Remembering the Philadelphia Spectrum

     I was down the Flyers game on Saturday and saw the big hole in the building. That building brings to mind so many memories. The first time I can remember being there was my first concert David Cassidy in 1972. I was only 9 yrs. My father took my best friend and me. The concert was great and we screamed as little girls do. The best part was after the show my father somehow managed to get us to meet him. We were so star stuck we couldn’t even tell him our names.                     

    That was the start of so many concerts and events there for me.  I saw Fleetwood Mac, Yes, The Who, Springsteen, Madonna, Phil Collins, Howard Jones, Diana Ross, Inxs,Peter Gabriel,  mmr’s festivals, and so many more. My first Springsteen shows were in 1979 with all my girlfriends.  I also saw him for all the last concerts in 2009. He still rocked the place and we danced just as we did 1979.

  My first Dead show was August 1980. That was one I will never forget. We went with no tickets and for around $20.00 plus my cooler filled with beer we got 3 tickets into the show. The encore that night was one more Saturday night and I was now a Dead head.  From that night to the present there hasn’t been many shows I was not a part of at the spectrum. My favorite night was 1987. We had first row of the second floor so all night we stood at the rile dancing. When Spenser Davies came out singing with them just made it all the more special for us. After the show we went to the Four Seasons with no money and ended up talking to Phil and Brent via the house phones. It was one special night. Years later with a bit more money we stayed at the Four Seasons and had beers with Bobby.  There were so many great Dead shows over the years and each one holds its own special memory.

    Outside of concerts there were many Flyers games along the way. I was there when the Flyers played the Russian.  In the 90’s became a season ticket holder.

  I have laughed, cried, cheered, danced, and sang me heart out within those walls. Thanks for many great memories that can never be forgotten

La Stalla Authentic Italian food served family style

Just found a wonderful restaurant in Newtown, PA. Tonight we had dinner at La Stalla. It was outstanding. We started with a mix meat and cheese plate.  It included stuff figs which were very tasty and really good homemade crusty Italian bread.  We tried their traditional Caesar salad for two. That was good. For the main course there are many different chicken, fish, and veal choices but we went with two different pastas. Black truffle sachet, ting pasta purses stuffed with ricotta and black truffle in a roasted almond and sage butter sauce and Rigatoni carbonara, pancetta and sweet onions with a touch of cream and finished with parmigiana cheese. Both of these were just delicious and you could really taste all the flavors in each one. We couldn’t even think about dessert after all this but the menu looked great.   We are already looking forward to our next meal here. There are so many things to try. 

http://www.lastallarestaurant.com/