Bouchelle

bebe Quatro

2012-02-09T14:13:00.001-05:00

fyi - while we are still naive regarding the sex of the bebe I will continue to daydream in androgyny..

Quatro is our gender-neutral nickname that really works no matter XX or XY... james daniel hlavacek the fourth (what??? i bet you can't think of any better nicknames for The Fourth!).. or Ursula the Fourth (yes! after Jimmy's grandmother, mother, and sister!). oh yes. hehe.

though poor Annie (aka Ursula the Third) was tormented after The Little Mermaid came out when she was just a little tyke! maybe we have some searching still to do - and i would dare not ever announce Quatro's official name on the blog before letting mom & pop know!

Rockin out at work

2012-02-08T18:12:00.000-05:00

I'm loving being only 2/3rds of the way through three weeks straight of children's anesthesia... Laying around in my new hoodie jamming to pandora through my drawstrings like the hipster I am.

2012-02-02T08:31:00.000-05:00

Happy Groundhogs Day! What will Puxatony see???

I think I'll celebrate with a little shopping and cleaning and enjoying a postcall day after 10 hours of sleep in the hospital.... can't complain!

week 14

2012-01-30T19:03:00.000-05:00

while i'm already at week 15 as of today ;) ... i'm pretty slow with the whole blog-posting thing

here is a 14 week pic!

the bump...

2012-01-25T20:02:00.000-05:00

can't stand it any longer - and can't hide it either! baby bump on the way.... little halavaysick! I'm 14 1/2 weeks along - lemme let you see how I've fared along the way!

5 weeks (but I thought I was 8.. ha!)

10 weeks!

just wait i'll update with this week's update soon!

ps I'll probably be obsessing over the nursery soon enough so visit it on Windsor Portfolio

2012-01-09T22:03:00.000-05:00

My own personal Clark Kent says 'RTR Baby!' in his hot glasses!!

Clay Pot Pork

2012-01-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

Inspired from the aroma seeping from the microwave in the anesthesia lounge... my friend Mark Stivers is quite the gourmet chef and he gave me this recipe that he just whipped together one day! OMG it is to die for - modified from the Gourmet Vietnamese recipe here, we had it for several nights in a row!

PS I doubled this recipe.

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup Asian fish sauce, preferably Vietnamese
3 shallots, thinly sliced (I used an onion)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lb country-style boneless ribs (or trimmed boneless pork shoulder), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
3 jalapenos, (1 chopped)
1 hand of ginger, grated
1 16 oz package of noodles of preference, I used egg-yolk free wide noodles, or jasmine rice
2 Tbs butter + 2 Tbs flour for thickening sauce

Cook sugar in a dry 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, without stirring, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar has melted into a deep golden caramel. Carefully add stock and fish sauce (caramel will harden and steam vigorously) and cook, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. Add shallots/onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapenos, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes.

Toss pork with pepper in a bowl and stir into sauce. Bring to a simmer, then cover pan, reduce heat to low, and braise pork, stirring once or twice, until very tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Mark (and I) both pulled out the pork when it was perfectly braised so we could reduce the rest of the sauce. I added melted butter tabs to flour and stirred, then mixed in with the sauce to thicken. Once the right consistency, readd the pork to warm and use fork to pull apart.

Cook pasta/rice as directed. Serve the pork over top and enjoy!

Happy Holidays!

2012-01-01T20:27:00.000-05:00

A little blurry as a consequence of my impatience with the scanner and resulting acceptance of a low resolution version.... Happy Belated Holidays and have a great New Year!!!

Not to be outdone, please enjoy the ridiculousness and amazingness of sister dear's... !

Domestic Goddess Fail

2011-12-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

Apparently all Le Creusets are not direct-heat safe...

(successful recipe to follow)

fish in a barrell

2011-12-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

PD is missing me

2011-11-01T18:25:00.000-04:00

sadly i've been an unfit mother for much more than the blog... the neurosurgery ICU has completely dominated all my energy and pipe-dog is perpetually sad when I get home.

another trip to Cover and Jeff's pad so she could hang with Ellie, her sister from another mister, was her consolation prize last weekend.

though we still locked her out after she got ridiculously wet in the jacuzzi...

MIA... and not the band

2011-10-16T17:57:00.002-04:00

So I've been a little less than journalistically-inspired lately. And my lackluster efforts have not gone unnoticed, ergo here I am. How about some photocoupage for the eyes? I know that that is not a word, but it felt so good rolling off the keyboard that I will keep it, red squiggly line and all.

Here's what I've missed...

UNC Girls weekend 2011 in Wrightsville Beach

Homage to our childhoods

you know what these are...

Homage to college

you'd recognize that diamond shaped SOLO confirmation in the background anywhere

Cindy Lou celebrating starting med school and some Beirut with Piper & Scott

Hopefully the next cover of Orvis Dog Book - aka Moose, Bill's pup

Back-to-back weekend celebrations of Jimmy's 30th year of tom-revelry

Jimmy & Jimmy celebrating becoming grownups

Jennifer and I are only enablers

just a few of the old crew

Boligee Dance-Off Pants-Off 2011

and by 'Pants-Off' I'm more referring to pants-ripping that occurs 2 songs from this

ps thanks for the jumpstart, Lisa and Bernie

Cookie Pie Oh My

2011-09-17T20:47:00.001-04:00

Obtained from Nestle Classic Recipes and really from Bakerella online... this has quickly become my favorite dessert as a throw-back to the classic cookie-cake that has been so influential in my life.

Considering we have recently become unofficial Louisianians with our posse of cajuns here in Birmingham, we had to show our Saints love for the game party last week!

Sadly, this is the first time I've used our KitchenAid mixer since we got it before the wedding..uhh three years ago! I'm not traditionally much of a baker I guess...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell*
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped pecans
Serve with ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven 325 degrees F.
Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high until foamy.
Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter.
Stir in morsels and nuts and spoon into pie shell.
Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

Recipe from Nestle Classic Recipes, 2003
* If using frozen pie shell, use deep dish style and thaw completely. Bake on baking sheet and increase baking time slightly.

German Potato Salad

2011-09-10T14:30:00.001-04:00

I'm so ridiculously bad that this is the first post of pictures from the Hartmann (Jimmy's mother's family) family reunion in South Carolina from a few weeks ago! Yes - at one point in the week with Troupe, Me, my mom, and Aunt Anne - we were borderline ready to call it a Trice family trip (Trice is my mother's maiden name)! haha Ursula didn't know that an invite to one really meant an invite to all!!

This potato salad is a favorite of the Hartmann/Hlavacek family. Grandma Hartmann - AKA Ursie I - relinquished the reigns over her masterpiece to let us minions contribute it to the gathering one night.

3-4 lbs new potatoes (white and waxy looking or red potatoes,medium-sized

lots of minced fresh parsley (1/2 c - 3/4 c)

½ onion, finely chopped Vidalia (sweet)

Mayonnaise to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3-1/2 c apple cider vinegar

1/3 c light olive oil

Put potatoes in cold water and bring to boil with skins on. Reduce heat to simmer. Cooking time will depend on size of potatoes - somewhere around 15-20 minutes. Watch carefully and test with large pronged fork. If sizes are different you will have to take small potatoes out first. Cool and when can be handled, peel. Don’t wait until they are cold.

Make vinaigrette dressing by whisking 1/3 cup vinegar and around 3/4 cup olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Whisk until emulsified and tastes good. Add more vinegar a teaspoon at a time until taste suits you. You don't want it too oily or too sour! You could also add 1 teaspoon prepared french dijon mustard.

Peel and slice potatoes. I usually add the onion and dressing as I slice potatoes and put them in the bowl (you may not need all the dressing - you don't want it soupy!) Add parsley to taste. If made the day before, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Before serving add mayo to taste. I usually use a mixture of regular and light or you can use all regular. Just add a little at a time and gently fold it into the potatoes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

optical illusions and a wonderful preview of UNC Reunion Numero Siete

2011-09-07T20:07:00.000-04:00

Who is bigger?

Cart or Allison Hayes?

hahaha this makes me laugh out loud.

maybe you have to know the girls.

or maybe you have to know that in reality we were all making fun of angela because she immediately broke that beach chair when she sat on it.

cart wants to point out that maybe angela just looks especially small in this pic.

..sure.

little sissie grows up,... and laps

2011-08-20T22:50:00.000-04:00

I want to give some well-deserved accolades to Cover and Jeff for each not only advancing at a breaking speed up the corporate ladder, but also for buying their first joint home! They have landed a real home with so much charm! Here are a few pics - and I'll probably be pretending it is my own home over on Windsor Portfolio as they pick out new paint colors and furniture... I love a new project, even if I'm highjacking my sister's!

anyone else notice something strikingingly viking in this pic?

Burgers anyone??

two week recap

2011-07-24T18:36:00.000-04:00

work-play work-play makes for an idle blogger

Rihanna

my Birthday!

the Robot

the Danceoff

repeat Cover and Jeff and Ellie weekend with homemade pizzas

Trouble rearing its adorable head

a visit from Piper's boyfriend Champ

ok - so more play than work

my day-to-day office at its finest

Piper gets a party

2011-07-14T10:46:00.000-04:00

my sweetheart piper is never going to let me forget just that... that she is my sweetheart and no one else ever will be. she apparently has learned to read traditional western languages, left-to-right, top-to-bottom, and now proudly parades her pillow around correctly to see if we can get it right, too.

old ladies reba and lilly came by for the weekend to play. purposefully dodging my early morning photography session with quick steps and fancy spins to face the opposite direction of my tantalizing calls.

dad's ingenious method of letting the two old bitties out into the yard and not have to chase either one down. sadly these canines don't have advanced thought-processing abilities like we like to think they do ... namely they are unable to coordinate an escape into the treasure-trove that is the neighbor's yard. instead they end up all twisted around my sad little hydrangeas and eventually conned into the live-dog trap that is the back of the yukon.

until next visit!

Hiney Quarters hits Boligee by storm

2011-07-10T12:55:00.002-04:00

so i guess i promised earlier that i'd have a followup post to illustrate our entertaining and crazy-ridiculous family weekends in boligee

i don't know if my parents were quite prepared for this when i sent it to them last week to make sure there was mainstream approval before i posted it here

premise - our cousins beetle, anna, and blanton from baltimore headed down for easter weekend and brought some of their east coast charm with them

i'm new to this whole youtube fad. you might want to load it in youtube's window (bottom right option) because my version here appears quite tiny and you may miss out on very comic moments

Green Thumb FAIL

2011-07-05T15:13:00.000-04:00

yes these are hydrangeas. apparently you're not supposed to trim off the dead blooms late in the winter or the next year's blooms won't reemerge... so instead i devote as much love to my two blooms as others would to the whole bush

the milkman happens to live nearby..

2011-06-30T19:57:00.001-04:00

i was recently working a little late for some moonlighting hours when i was approached by my chief resident, mitch. he asked me how i'd been, yada yada, and mentioned that he had run into jimmy just the other night when they were doing a lady's surgery late together...

imagine the scenario.. the woman may have been portrayed as somewhat portly. maybe 5'1". maybe 350#. you know, the usual down here. and maybe the type of surgery dictated that she be face-down...

well, now imagine if they had some trouble making the habitus meet the surgical table. boobies afloppin - to be specific. and while mitch is one of the most stellar anesthesiologists to hit uab, he does not take on extraneous responsibilities, namely he refuses to be involved in most boob placement maneuvers.

therefore this job may have just landed upon my adorable jimmy. and he tends to bare-hand things. he hates to waste gloves, he says. so while he was adamantly trying to squeeze her triple G bosoms into the longitudinal table bars, he got quite a handful... of milk.

jimmy's always said in his best alabama accent ... "ain't nobody ever got HIV through the skin" - unfortunately mother milk doesn't follow the same unspoken rules as HIV does.

yes, a little lactation goes a long way. retching on his way out of the room he may have proceeded to mutter that this isn't his job. he also might've informed everyone that he will no longer work at uab. anesthesia will have to take on the responsibility of positioning all patients.

and hence the nickname, the milkman.

oh - but wait! he's not alone. Sara Mullins has way too much time, btw. But props to her for the pickup. I would've never ever been so privy to such pertinent newsworthy events.

Woman Arrested After Allegedly Spraying Deputies With Breast Milk

Monday, June 27, 2011 5:48 AM

Updated: Monday, June 27, 2011 5:39 PM

WBNS-10TV

DELAWARE, Ohio — A woman faces several charges after she allegedly sprayed deputies with breast milk as they tried to detain her over the weekend.

The incident occurred early Saturday morning near the Bridgewater Banquet & Conference Center on Sawmill Parkway.

According to the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the area after receiving calls about a domestic dispute. When they arrived, a man told them that he had been attending a wedding at the facility with his wife, who had gotten drunk and struck him several times before locking herself in a car.

Delaware County Sheriff Walter L. Davis III said deputies tried to talk with the woman, who was identified as Stephanie Robinette, 30, of Westerville, but she refused to cooperate.

"When deputies attempted to remove Robinette from the vehicle, she advised the deputies that she was a breast feeding mother and proceeded to remove her right breast from her dress and began spraying deputies and the vehicle with her breast milk," Davis said.

The deputies were eventually able to remove Robinette from the car and arrest her, Davis said.

She was later charged with domestic violence, assault, obstructing official business, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, authorities said.

Robinette, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was released from custody on her own recognizance following a video arraignment on Monday, 10TV News reported.

Before her release, Robinette, a teacher employed at a charter school, apologized for what occurred.

"I have no criminal record; I take these charges very seriously and I absolutely intend to seek help for substance abuse with alcohol because alcoholism does run in my family," Robinette said.

Domestic Goddess FAIL

2011-06-30T14:01:00.000-04:00

our mexifest meets a piñata

2011-06-27T20:43:00.005-04:00

first weekend we've both had off in a while so to celebrate jimmy proposed a shindig. a crosscontamination of residencies, per se. anesthesia + ortho + 1 obgyn + 1 PM&R + 1 ophtho + lots of bebes, hot ladies, and pooches.

i thought i'd make our scrumptious braised pork tacos, tinto verano, and bushwackers to enjoy. this involved a serious defog of the backyard skeeters as well as a serious hoovering of pipe's furriness that i've grown wayy too accustomed to.

oh - and my camera sadly didn't make it out until i'd enjoyed one tinto verano, one margarita, and at least one bushwacker... so i missed the bulk of the normal part and partigoers of the party

i ~~copied~~ modeled dinner after Ed Grady's shindig just the week before where he perfected fish tacos.. mmmm.. wait! i think i forgot to put the fish on this taco before it was featured on my camera roll... well you can imagine

tom sawyer (yes... real name), and a skeptical brian thompson last week at ed's

below, a compilation of ed's finest to include my new favorite avocado vinaigrette

what's a fiesta without a moustache? or two...three? or a browstache?

everyone knows this cat

lauren etier and myself

mama deeter, big deeter, baby deeter (emily, jason, and elliot determann)

buzz and ladybuzz (paul and mary buzzhardt)

you can tell we are getting to this scary stage of adulthood when the number of babies and children start to outnumber the number of us mature adults...

baby boy on right is john grady maddox, claire and grady's son

after the kids went home to slumber we really dug into the adult treats of the bushwackers and an adult-themed piñata thanks to lala and brian etier, always available to provide adequate role models for us amateurs.

little miss Fleegie!

2011-06-19T18:12:00.000-04:00

my dear friend from highschool, Lindsay Fleege (aka fashionista ChanelRowley Charleston's new style goldenchild), received a fantabulous offer to become Lindsay Williamson sometime in the near future!! She's accepted the offer of his hand but still likes the idea of Mrs. Fleege, progressive professional lady that she is!

perfect perfect

power couple

the happy duo, fiance McLeod Williamson (another Duke grad for Jimmy to cheer with soon enough)

He had all of their friends gather with Tshirts that said LFW? on them for the night of the proposal, but little Miss Lindz had to go to another party and delayed the initial proposal until later in the night at her place! little socialista

¿mas paella?

2011-06-05T19:50:00.000-04:00

Just a few of the best from a fantastic holiday to España!

Our Laughing Place.... part one of three..

2011-05-18T09:13:00.000-04:00

for those of you who can't imagine Boligee's charm... I have some snapshots that capture the place pretty well... and a prelude to much more entertainment to come

Kee showing off again

I don't care that it'll one day be a butterfly...

Pouting Piper

My favorite spot

Tequila, my parent's new favorite cocktail (I can't surpass my gag reflex left over from college days)

Arthur is such a prankster...

Bass and brim

After a successful hunt with Beetle, Anna and Blanton (our Baltimore cuzzes...)

Sissie Dear!

2011-05-16T09:37:00.000-04:00

Happy 27th Birthday Sissie!!!!!!!!

We are starting to get to the age now where we don't announce your new age.... This may be the last official proclamation for Cover....

I love you! Have a great day!!!

downtime dinner

2011-05-13T18:12:00.000-04:00

my solution to typical thursday laziness with unknown arrival time of MIA husband:

dinner on the table + no cooking or heating = WholeFoods antipasta!!

hummus, fresh tomatoes, marinated shrooms, artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, spicy sweet potatoes, roasted red peppers, shrimp kabobs, boiled eggs, and 3 cheeses (Amadeus, Drunken Goat, and Brie)

no words to describe

2011-05-06T20:32:00.000-04:00

I hope, for your sake, that your computer screen is wide enough that this image properly displays.

Please be sure to read through the whole article.

Now you may be able to see why it's tough for me to embrace Key West as a destination vacation.

MamaCita celebrates the big 3-0!!! (*wink wink!)

2011-05-04T10:24:00.001-04:00

My beautiful, loving, and funny mother celebrates another birthday today!! Happy Birthday Kee!

she always has been a big fan of nature

i still love this one

look how sassy in those duck boots!

her fierce posse of ladies in hats

ever loving husband freddie

we love you mom!!

Freddie

2011-04-08T06:49:00.004-04:00

Dad is one year closer to Social Security and AARP Memberships!!!! woop woo! Happy Birthday!!

a 40-year Birthday Blast from the Past!!! Who can forget the joint venture with Matt Yonge and all of Pensacola ready to get "Fried with Matt and Fred"???!!

Seen this year with his ever lovely bride, Kee.

Most recent Gobbler to succumb to his prowess..

Matt Yonge and an always perky Rick, aka his Better Half, living the life in Vegas...

Not one to be messed with. This was put on his belt intentionally as a threat to potential invaders of the camphouse...

and a blast from the past with his girls!!!!! We love you!!

Kabob-OFF part 2 - Greek Kabobs with Lemon Pea RisiBisi and Mint Yogurt Sauce

2011-04-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

Part two of my recent fascination with kabobs... I loved the ones from before but must say that Jimmy couldn't remember the Thai ones after having these the other night...

Grilled Chicken Mushroom Pepper and Tomato Kebabs

1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs paprika
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (0 or 2%)
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt
1 package whole mushrooms
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 green pepper, cut in thick pieces for skewering

To prepare the marinade, in a food processor, combine the onion, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, thyme, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Pulse to mix. Add yogurt and pulse again to mix.

Place the chicken cubes in a nonreactive bowl, pour marinade over the cubes, and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate, about 8 hours.

If using wood skewers, soak in water to cover, at least 30 minutes. Prepare a grill for direct grilling over medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade, and thread onto skewers, alternating with mushrooms peppers and tomatoes. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Place skewers on grill, turning and basting once with reserved marinade, until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to warmed plate and serve with yogurt sauce (below).

(From A Taste of the World, 2008)

Yogurt and Mint Sauce

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/3-1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 crushed garlic clove
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp chopped fresh mint
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp small capers
1 Tbs mayonnaise

Pulse in small food processor and serve room temp (or zap in microwave before serving to make slightly warm).

Lemon Pea RisiBisi

3-4 Tbs butter (salted)
1/2 yellow onion - diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups arborio rice
4-5 cups chicken broth
2 lemons for juice
handful of mint leaves
salt and pepper
1 cup fresh small green peas (or frozen if not available)

Prepare similar to regular risotto. In large flat pan with lid, melt butter over medium heat. Put in onion and saute until soft, 5-7 minutes. Mince garlic in pan. Put arborio rice in pan and stir to coat with butter. Cook 3-5 minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently so doesn't stick to bottom.

Squeeze 1 lemon over rice, avoiding seeds, and stir to cook off juices. In 1/2 cup increments, pour in chicken broth and let simmer until most of the broth has evaporated. Continue to pour in broth portions while occasionally stirring rice. Rice will slowly cook and become creamy. Chop about half of mint leaves and pour them as well as the peas into the rice when rice appears about half-done. Continue to add broth to the rice. As rice begins to be done, squeeze the other lemon in for flavor, add salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with remaining mint leaves. Serve with yogurt sauce on top of both rice and kabobs.

Enjoy!

Kabob-off Part 1

2011-03-31T18:31:00.000-04:00

I think it's no secret I'm a foodie, but I don't know if all realize how much an international foodie I am... given the choice to make shrimp&grits, meatloaf&mashed potatoes, or grilled fish&asparagus VS thai, mexican, or italian, I will always choose the latter.

So here is part 1 of a two-part series on my latest international dishes, specifically kabobs. Lately I've been obsessed with Thai food, and quickly I've come to realize that fish sauce, chile paste, rice noodles and light coconut milk have entered the "always stocked" status in my pantry.

Thai Chicken Kabobs with Jasmine rice and Spicy Peanut Sauce

Kabobs
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1Tbs fish sauce (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
3/4 red pepper flakes
3 Tbs water
1 cup canned unsweetened (or light) coconut milk
1 Tbs creamy peanut butter
4 green onions with tops, cut into 1" pieces
1 each yellow red and green bell peppers, cut into strips

Cut chicken into 3/8-inch cubes; place in shallow glass dish.

Combine soy sauce, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in small bowl. Reserve 4 Tbs mixture. Add water to remaining mixture. Pour over chicken; toss to coat well. Cover; marinate in refrigerator at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours, stirring mixture occasionally.

Soak 8 (10-12 inch) bamboo skewers 20 minutes in cold water to prevent them from burning; drain. Prepare grill for direct cooking.

Meanwhile, for peanut sauce, combine coconut milk, 4 Tbs reserved soy sauce mixture and peanut butter in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 2-4 minutes or until sauce thickens. Keep warm.

Drain chicken, reserve marinade. Skewer chicken intermittently with green onions and peppers. Brush chicken and vegetables with reserved marinade. Discard remaining marinade.

Place skewers on grill. Grill uncovered over medium-hot heat 6-8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning halfway. Serve with jasmine rice and cilantro with peanut sauce over top.

From Thai Cooking 2005

hello

2011-03-30T22:58:00.000-04:00

just a little hello from our front yard looking in

The Three Amigos....

2011-03-22T19:11:00.000-04:00

The three amigos now have justified their years of hard practice fighting the good fight against the bulls... As they are now fully prepared for their upcoming vacation in Spain.

Jeff aka El Operador Suave

Jimmy, aka El Terror de la Noche

Troupe, aka El Pequeño Torero

Stay tuned for updated pictures from new bullfights, coming late May 2011.

mmmm gotta love the Spring Bourbon!

2011-03-15T19:13:00.000-04:00

Went out the other night to our favorite spot, Dram, a whiskey bar, in Mountain Brook Village. I was having quite a nice time as the 3rd wheel for the Etiers, that is until Jimmy showed up... ;)

On their menu is a fabulous bourbon drink called a Blackberry Winter... But I have to say it reminds me of Easter and springtime! Saturday rolled around and I had already purchased the ingredients to make my own... Here it is!

2 oz Bourbon of your choice (I chose Makers... comes with Knob Creek at Dram)
2 oz orange-juiced based juice (I chose a mix of OJ/pineapple/apple, but Dram uses Sour Mix)
a hefty squeeze of lime juice
1 Tbs of coarsely pureed blackberries

Puree 1 container blackberries (save about 4 berries for garnish), coarsely, with chunks. This keeps if you choose to make the drink several nights in a row.

Pour all above ingredients in a shaker. Fill shaker 2/3 of way with ice. Shake. Delicious served in a double-old-fashioned... but I bet even better served up and neat!

Enjoy!

bubble boy

2011-03-09T14:02:00.002-05:00

As you know, Jimmy is quite accident prone. Cover has given him 4900 square feet of bubble wrap now for his next birthday to be used prior to any and all future outings.

Case in point... no, this is not the intentional redneck schmearing of the first-kill's blood; this is in fact his own blood.

In an attempt to move away from high-powered rifles and further potential mishaps, Fred decided to entice Jimmy to learn turkey calling so he could turkey hunt (with a shotgun) this spring.

What an awkward face? is what you must be thinking. This is Jimmy fighting off his gag reflex while attempting to call large gobblers into our living room.

_______________________________________________________________________

So we encourage him to stick with what he knows.

Bourbon

Sleeping

and Entertaining...

anyone else like that he's wearing the same jacket in all the photos? he tries to wear it to work but i have to draw the line. alabama has created a monster.

a few new friends

2011-03-06T17:11:00.001-05:00

Life in Birmingham has been good for us. Lots of good friends and good food. We tend to spend most of our time combining the two. How lucky are we to have found friends with such similar interests..?!?

from top left, me, Brian and LaLa Etier, Emily and Jason Determann, Jimmy, Brad and Ashely Culotta, Sara Mullins, Cover, Ed Grady, Jacob Shevins, Jeff DuBois, Andrew Sherman, Eric Fite, Tom Sawyer (yes, that's his real name), Stacy Wade, and Brian Thompson.

baha is anyone else as entertained by the fatface app as I am???

Mama Cita!

2011-02-14T20:26:00.002-05:00

What better way to celebrate the end of Q3 (on call every third night) Surgical ICU call for the last month... than a visit from Kee! Let's pour the toddies and hit the town!! Also my first real vacation this year, unless you count the three days off for Christmas... Back to Anne, the real person, and away from Anne, the red-eyed and overwhelmed anesthesia resident who pretends to know what she's doing...

A Love Affair

2011-02-09T20:23:00.000-05:00

Our little lady has fallen hard. For our houseguest, Little-Man-Etier, aka the Champ. He is here for an extended weekend while Mom and Pop celebrate their anniversary in NYC...

First glances...

First Kisses

the Etier's couldn't be more pleased, they had given up and planned for him to remain a bachelor his remaining years...

Ahhh. Love at first sniff.

Happy Belated...

2011-02-05T22:48:00.000-05:00

Groundhog's Day!

seems each year I get farther and farther away from an appropriately timed post thanking Fred for the flora......... see last year too

2011-02-01T17:40:00.000-05:00

what do you do when you are stuck working at the county hospital - aka the Coop - for 8 weeks?

naturally, you challenge your patients to a facial hair duel

here is jimmy after a solid 3 weeks of no shaving... what? can't see?? look closer

and after another 2... now we're getting somewhere

it's all relative when you've got eastern European bloodlines, right?! i'll make sure to keep everyone updated as he sprouts new hairs.

photos....

2011-01-31T16:57:00.000-05:00

Christmas present for me and lil Sister dear... Canon Rebel and we like to pretend we know what we're doing!

Though it is obviously all a façade, we sure do look the part.....

OMG

2011-01-24T23:36:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure all people who at one point liked to follow my sad little blog have now flown the coop.

It all turned sour when we had to pay >$4K for various plumbing bills, to include new pipes going into the backyard (roots...).

And would you know it, but those plumbers are just as good at cutting up old pipes in the ground as they are at cutting down AT&T cable lines.... a solid 40 ft up in the air!

Needless to say, we've been without internet since December 29th, but thanks to persistent Jimbo, we've finally been reacquainted with CyproSpace.

Hopefully I can refind my creative self and jump back in...

Merry Christmas from the Halavasicks!

2010-12-20T21:19:00.000-05:00

Everyone loves a Bavarian Christmas....

Merry Christmas to Everyone!!!!

the first snow!

2010-12-12T11:39:00.001-05:00

Nothing makes me happier than snow, even when it is just wimpy little flurries!

Piper is juiced (so is Jimmy) and ready for it to stick

Allright Birmingham - time for everything to shut down so we can all hole up in our homes!

a little recap....

2010-12-09T18:11:00.001-05:00

... of quite an interesting Thanksgiving this year.

Apparently I am still the apple of Jimmy's eye, as he continues to try to impress Fred with demonstrations of his manliness around the hunting camp.

Considering I was out in the woods gathering some red meat for the family (see below), Jimmy attempted to help Fred move around a tree stand.

Yes, above is my 270. And yes, the little white dot below is my 100 lb doe, aka dinner for us for about 4 months (and the sad little deer who wouldn't leave the field, in denial of the harsh reality of Alabama redneck winters)

While I brought home the proverbial bacon, he fractured his wrist while going over a bump on the trailer being pulled behind the four-wheeler. :(

Friday after Thanksgiving... off to surgery at Highlands, where he currently also functions as a legitimate doctor... (thanks to Dr. Chaudhari, Jennings, and McKeown... who missed the first half of the Iron Bowl to fix the star PGY2)

(these pictures were taken despite the fact that he had a bruised ego because of his old-lady-fracture)

He tried to refuse to take off his underwear, but those OR nurses had quite a few objections and probably really enjoyed the spectacle. Especially when he went off to go to the bathroom beforehand (afraid they would insist on a Foley), and mooned my attending and a nurse. Those gowns are unforgiving!

He looks quite festive now in his Christmas cast....

JAZZercise!

2010-11-21T10:40:00.001-05:00

Thought Jazzercise was all about the 80's? Think again.

You too can jazzercise, all around Birmingham. Not for the lighthearted, I am still sore about 4 days after my excursion with Lauren, who is a great influence on my quest for perfect health....

Find and class here and join us next time

Or instead, come join us for the poledancing class we are planning... ;)

http://www.pytstudio.com/index-3.html

whoever said exercise has to serve just one purpose??

and a happy belated...

2010-11-09T17:54:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was our two year anniversary. In memory of the wedding weekend, I'd like to take the time to personally thank all of those who were so inspired at the time that they chose to participate in the un-official SexyTablePosing Contest. Pensacola was amazed by how good-looking and sexy all of our friends were.

and the runner-ups:

Phillip McLamb

Drew Mansfield

Andrew Johnson

Sheppard Bates Reynolds, and his fists of steel

Aashish Dhakad

Angela Ulrich (she must've done this before...)

Steve Kim, aka Blue Steel

Jimmy Roberts (amazingly this stud is off the market, ladies)

Kathryn Klein, Cart Rixey, Alana Harrington

Aaron Lazovik and ... another Drew Mansfield

the winner: who also happens to be the orchestrator

Aaron Lazovik!

it doesn't get much sexier than this, ladies.

Until next wedding

my favorite halloween moment

2010-10-31T10:00:00.002-04:00

let's just say Fred was never really into the whole "P.C." thing, so the opportunity came to dress his girls like hobos and he sped the whole way to the goodwill to get us garbed up.

I like that we both look like complete crackheads in every photo.

I also like that my mom was a fly. hmmm

and of course that every one of these was taken with a polaroid.

Halloween Parade

2010-10-30T13:45:00.002-04:00

awesome parades in Oak Harbor, WA

I'm the angel

like always

painted ladies (and gents)

2010-10-29T14:40:00.003-04:00

the pumpkin man was always enthusiastic about facepaint for his girls

(please note, fake nose, not a nosejob for me at seven)

the creeeeeepiest costume ever

2010-10-28T13:37:00.002-04:00

mom and aunt anne. basically mom terrifying aunt anne, who looks to be running away

...reincarnation....

2010-10-27T19:12:00.000-04:00

and now, mom and dad's costumes reincarnated

(I was too shy to show off my spider legs)

early 80's blast

2010-10-26T14:56:00.001-04:00

sorry Kee and Fred, couldn't resist

2010-10-25T13:51:00.001-04:00

boo

happy halloween....

2010-10-24T22:51:00.000-04:00

since i've taken quite a hiatus, I think I'll overdo it this week with blasts from the past

how cute were we? guess who's who....

(actually, you probably noticed, neither of us are actually that cute in these. start low, aim high...)

Ghost Chili

2010-10-12T18:53:00.001-04:00

all that embodies the FALL

leaf changing

dogs in Boligee

photo courtesy of Troupe Brewer

attack of the pumpkin man

Alabama football

turkey eating

and.....

Ghost Chili

1 lb large white beans
6 cups chicken broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium onions, chopped (divided)

1 tablespoon oil

2 4-oz cans chopped green chilies

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon chili powder

4 cups diced cooked chicken breasts (or more)

3 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese

Combine beans, chicken broth, garlic and half of the onions in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are very soft, 3 hours or more. Add more chicken broth, if necessary. In a skillet, sauté remaining onions in oil until tender. Add chilies and seasonings and mix thoroughly. Add to bean mixture. Add chicken and continue to simmer 1 hour. Serve topped with grated cheese. Serves 8-10.

Great to serve for Halloween!

Week of Jimmy

2010-10-10T13:04:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Jimmy! ... he turns the big 2-9 today!

a little homage to his life as it has shaped up thus far:

a scary preview of life on windsor

some facial expressions you're just born with

not to dissimilar from his face after 12 wings yesterday at the KickinChicken fest

jimmy crack corn

poor Jimmy & pox

yes, that is a headband

the awkward years

another preview

watch out

durham weeks, michael riley, jimmy, brett gray, chase allen, bill donovan, john bourgeois

oh so rugged

d-money and jimmy with bombs

happy 4th!

the domestic count

shooting pistols in Italy

you have to compensate by wearing things like this when you spend your days on the couch with the ladies instead of in the woods with your wife and father-in-law

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

ghost writer

2010-10-06T20:09:00.020-04:00

I was gone for the night with Jimmy to left to fend for himself - again. I then come home to find this:

In the past when I've blogged about Jimmy's various run-ins, I've always made a point to show the posts to him.

Upon query, he told me he had accidentally dropped my toothbrush off the counter and behind the toilet (ewwww). Much more importantly, he wanted me to know that he saved it in case I might still want to use it (even worse).

Interesting way to warn.... He definitely has a flair for the dramatic.

Apparently he took a liking to the blog fame. If this isn't a cry for attention, I don't know what is. I kindof ignored it for a while. But about a week after the incident he asked why I hadn't blogged about it yet. If you give a mouse a cookie....

{p.s. For those of you who'd already read this post and now see it differently - Jimmy had some Monday-morning quarterback 'suggestions'. In the interest of an accurate presentation and a 'team' approach to blogging, I changed around the order of my presentation. Once again, a bit more dramatic to suit his creative side.}

the new addition...

2010-09-15T20:38:00.000-04:00

to the Cook .... err Brooks clan...

who are you?

big yawn

doggie cousins

Shades of Blue

2010-09-09T20:59:00.000-04:00

a stadium divided but with lots of blue

Mary Carroll, Katie, Mary, Kathryn, Me, Angela, Alana, Cart, Laura... in blue

carolina blue stared at throughout the game

MARTA blue

coozie reminder blue ...

creepy blue (lambchops in background)

old trusty blue

stadium props blue

cute skirt blue

tailgate blue (Jessica and Angie)

Kathryn- and Carty-blue

the classic blue

drunk-eyes blue

best friends blue

troll-comforts-Cart blue

Georgia-Dome classy streetwalking blue

"my wife calls this 'limber' "- blue (Paul & Laura)

LSU (21) 30

UNC (18) 24

the ultimate blues

til next year...

Sweet Caroline

2010-09-02T20:50:00.008-04:00

I love this time of year - time for my annual college girls weekend! And you ask, "where are you headed"? Of course, we love to couple Labor Day weekend with football whenever possible... so Hotlanta to see our Heels play those crazy cajuns in the Georgia Dome!

If you are personally missing any or all of us, we'll be at the Eve Carson Tailgate allllllll of Saturday before the game!!

Debauchery abounds. Here we are one year out of college, Wrightsville Beach, fall 2005 (minus Kathryn, Angela, and Alana, who were obviously boozing up at the house during this photo session):

2006: UNC gameday!!

for those of you who don't know: top left around clockwise: Me, Laura Anderson McCoy, Katie Welch, Mary Keeley, Kathryn Klein, Cart Rixey, Alana Harrington, Angela Ulrich, and Mary Carroll Alexander

uhh.. about an hour later...

Top of the Hill

2007: we did Miami! ggrrrrrrr watch out!

2007: part deux. Back to the Chapel Hill, another game.

2008: Weddings!!! Laura and I both got married so we decided to forgo organized trips given 2 bachelorettes, 2 weddings!

Laura's Bachelorette at Isle of Palms (near Charleston)

Laura's Rehearsal Dinner in Raleigh

my Bachelorette in New Orleans

My wedding in Pensacola

2009: last year.... VA Beach! and a trip with the Rixey's and all of Cart's super cool friends.

2009: part deux. couldn't get enough. Back for a game too!!

Boo Duke

get excited for updates from this upcoming LaborDay weekend if you haven't already gotten enough of us!!!!!!

Lemon Basil Tini

2010-08-31T19:29:00.001-04:00

Delicious little summer sprizter to get us through these *(crossed fingers) last few dog days of summer!

Lemon Basil Tini

Only the freshest, straight-from-the-garden, ingredients will do.... ;)

Three Lemons by David Boyd

Pour 2 oz lemon vodka, a few squirts of lemon juice, a tini bit of simple syrup, and ripped up basil, over ice in a shaker (or in a pint glass). Shake and pour into a chilled martini glass!

Thai Grilled Hangersteak with Spicy Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Salad

2010-08-22T18:33:00.084-04:00

My favorite dish from one of my favorite restaurants in Chapel Hill, Jujube.

just a little sampler from their menu above. needless to say, everything they serve is to die for!

But I've been craving their Hangersteak and Cucumber salad (and I don't even really like cucumbers!). 2nd row, 3rd column.

Here is my version as it panned out this lovely Sunday:

Thai Grilled Hangersteak: (adapted from here)

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce (warning...smelly)
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil (I used peanut oil)
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2-3 Tbs grated fresh ginger root (I couldn't find lemongrass so I used ginger and cilantro and citrus instead)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 pounds flank steak or hanger steak

In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, lime juice and sesame/peanut oil. Stir in onion, cilantro, garlic, ginger, jalapeno.
Layer flank steak with marinade. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium high heat.
Depending on the thickness of the cut, cook on one side for ~5 minutes and on the other for ~3 until desired doneness.

Spicy Peanut Sauce:

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 jalapeno, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Serve on the side, no cooking required.
Thai Cucumber Salad:
3 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into thin slices (or just sliced thin)

1 Tbs salt
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup shopped peanuts (I didn't use)

Directions:
Toss the cucumbers with the salt in a colander, and leave in the sink to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Whisk together the sugar and vinegar in a mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro; toss to combine.

Serve on plate with jasmine rice and enjoy!

Pensacola Recap!

2010-08-17T19:04:00.000-04:00

Better late than never.... Proof again of the fabulousness of P-cola... and the efficacy of the skimmers keeping that oil OFF our beaches {our heroes!}!

Fourth of July with the Yonges and company off White Island in Pensacola Bay.

en route

Amelie, Aunt Anne, Molly, Mom

Kee and Fred, always up for a relaxing party

Me, Amelie, Melissa

Aunt Anne

Troupe and Molly

Chandler and Matt

Cover and Jeff

............................................................................................................................................

where are the boiled peanuts? (and our hubbies??)

Sister Dear.

....yes, Mom is still under the umbrella. She takes her skin care very seriously

Rendevous after showers for fireworks over the bay

Cover, Mom and I earlier in the week

last night of risky business...

2010-08-12T20:56:00.001-04:00

Dear friend of mine, Laura, thoughtfully put this thought into my head via email last week:

I was just perusing your blog, and as I watch way too much law and order, I have some extremely legit concerns about the info you post on your blog. First, you have pictures of your house and a general description of the location. Then you list the hours you are at home by yourself/nights Jimmy is gone on night float. Basically, you are setting yourself up to be the story line for law and order season 18. I don't want to see that happen . . . . some creepy patient could google you, find your blog, stalk down you house. The next thing you know, he's coming in Piper's doggie door!!

Needless to say - that email prompted me to remove my last name from the blog, as if that helps. But sadly I can't find myself willing to not make this personal with names, photos, details, etc..!! So now I sleep with a butcher knife underneath Jimmy's empty pillow (hear that, burglers?!?)

However..... get excited, tonight is my last of the single life of blogging and going to bed around 8:30! Jimmy is done tomorrow with an enforced 1 week vacay, so maybe soon he will be bringing ME dinner!

Now, unless my "patient stalker" is also an avid follower, I am nearing the carefree life of someone with a protector again, and the casting crew of Law&Order won't have to find an actress that meets my resemblance for the episode....

Mr. Mom

2010-08-09T21:13:00.004-04:00

So.... I went to Savannah last weekend - fabulous time with Amelie and her fun friends for Amelie's bachelorette! Pictures are in the works...

However, with this trip I left little Pipes with her sweet daddy for three nights. And, I think most of you remember his love of pampering. His philosophy is "one sandwich for me, one sandwich for Piper...." etc. I'm sure they had a big time.

When I got home Sunday, I wasn't really sure what state the house would be in, but of course prepared for the worst. Jimmy was at work but I chatted with him on the phone. Uncharacteristically, he said "I've got two things to tell you." Uh-oh.

#1. ants, marching up and down our windowsill above the kitchen sink. zillions of them. Jimmy had put out "ant killer" but really it had just attracted more. There were assembly lines with moving parts. I took care of them, and actually had noticed them way before we talked.

#2. Jimmy - "Well, the refrigerator light is out. Both the freezer and fridge lights, actually."
   Me - "there isn't a light in the freezer."
      Jimmy - "Oh. Well... I thought there was.   So I actually thought that the whole fridge was broken."
    Me - "no problem, we can replace the light."
      Jimmy - "Well, I thought that it was broken. I thought I shouldn't waste the food so I tried to eat it all."

Me - {wow}

He had definitely gone through some food.

Something caught my eye a little later in the day. Underneath the curtains in the guest room, on the floor. Upon inspection, I realized it was the upsidedown lid to the BlueBell vanilla.... seems Piper helped Jimmy with his attempts to not be wasteful! Caught red-handed. He admitted he had been looking for the lid for quite some time and assumed she had eaten it!

summertime sister dear

2010-08-04T19:44:00.000-04:00

A few oldies of the sister duos prancing the beach! I'm guessing this first one of Cover and I was when we lived in California based on the waves and the sand....

And this great one of Aunt Anne and Kee (Mom) obviously on the gorgeous beach in Pensacola!

Wish I were there now!

Actually, that was a lie - I wish we were here instead.... enough of the blasted heat and mugfog everytime we step outside of the house!

Lizzie Snow's Caramel Cake

2010-07-29T22:30:00.001-04:00

My birthday was 2 weeks ago - and since Jimmy did not appear to be running out anytime soon to buy me the icecream cake of my dreams, (I cut him some slack this year), I decided to take matters into my own hands!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cake - especially just eating the icing! It was my mother's grandmother's recipe, Lizzie Snow Gould.

Make it with classic yellow cake, two 9" cake circles. Make sure they are fully cooled before making the icing.

3 c sugar

1 c whole buttermilk

1 t baking soda

1 stick butter

Caramelize ½ c of the 3 cups of sugar. Do this by pouring sugar into a 3-4-qt saucepan (medium size), use very low heat and increase heat as you go, all the while stirring with a spoon or whisk to keep the sugar from sticking to the pan. This part takes a while. It will be getting close when the sugar starts to look and feel wet. Keep stirring and let it all change texture to the wet, syrupy sugar (clear in color).

Add ¼ c boiling water to the caramelized sugar, stand back!. You will be thinking at this point that you have messed up! All of the caramelized sugar turns hard as a rock in the boiling water, stir up all the hard pieces.

At this point pour the other ingredients into mixture and stir over medium to medium-high heat. Get it to a slow boil.

Cook until it forms a good ball when dropped in a glass of cold water. (Reach "soft ball" stage on candy thermometer, ~130 - 140 degrees F.) Remove from heat. Stir until creamy. It must be cool and creamy to go onto cake. It will go on the cake runny and harden on the cake. If you let it cool too much, it will be tough to spread onto cake (but still be delicious).

YUMMMM

btw - I completely ~~photoshopped~~ embellished my first picture. Here is the real final cake. Sometimes delicious doesn't equal pretty!

A teeny tiny little hairline crack quickly turned into a peacesign crevasse

Going

and finally, gone

a lonely summer....

2010-07-26T21:45:00.001-04:00

Not really, I've had so much fun!

But Jimmy is on night-float where he leaves for work at 6:45 PM (thankfully we live close!), and comes home somewhere between 10 AM and noon.... EVERY Monday-Thursday NIGHT!!! Sunday is even worse, he goes in at 5 AM and doesn't come back until Monday at 10AM! This is a 10-week long rotation, it started June 22nd and goes until Sept 1st! That leaves a very tired Jimbo every Friday night and a very reserved Saturday evening, clouded by dread as the next week quickly approaches...

Needless to say, lots of lonely nights. Sundays are the worst! During the weekdays I try to have something very domestic and yummy for him waiting when his alarm goes off at 6PM, for the cherished 25 minutes we have together!

With the onset of ~~crazy~~ real work hours for me, I have found this 6 PM challenge of dinner more and more tiring... and last week I took my first trip to Super Suppers down the street in Vestavia Hills.

Oh yes, that is me, buying about $100 worth of frozen mashed potatoes, chicken parm, and thaw-and-grill chimichanga flank steak!!!

But tonight I got home late, missed our "quality" time, and decided to eat leftover stale chips from Qdoba with a glass of $4.99 Rex Goliath pino (Yes, by myself - don't judge!)... PLEASE! someone step in!!!

Goodbye Shabang

2010-07-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

As you can see - I've updated!!!! New header, new blogtitle..... let's be honest, I made up Shabang back when I didn't even know if I'd keep blogging, back in the good old days of 2008.

Bouchelle.blogspot is still the same url, so no real changes for anyone, but now is much improved!

For those of you who don't know, Bouchelle is my maiden middle name - a very famous name if you're from the town of Boligee, Alabama, where Bouchelle Company Cotton Buyers meant big business back in the early part of last century!

Pillars of the Earth

2010-07-24T15:53:00.001-04:00

For those of you who live under a rock, Pillars of the Earth is the best book almost ever, my all-time favorite, and is now an 8-part miniseries on Starz.

We were initially assigned this 1000-page book as required reading our senior year of highschool, back in the good-ole days, and needless to say even all of the guys in our highschool read it in its entirety.

Starring Donald Sutherland amongst others - I think it officially starts in 3 days, however I have somehow already recorded the first two parts. We added Starz for just $7.99 a month and can cancel anytime, so I suggest you do the same!!! Don't miss it - even Jimmy is hooked and lined up to read the 2nd book, World without End, as soon as this is over...

Caps... what a shame

2010-07-20T21:39:00.006-04:00

I've always liked hats. I must think I look good in them or something. Maybe it's subconscious, maybe not so much...

yes, this is my husband wearing a wig and eyeliner. yes, we are standing in front of our old pirate mural.

Unfortunately, I don't wear them. Well - a hat seems to be something that you really have to have confidence to pull off. Because, when someone wears a hat/cap - unless it is the dead of winter and you are circled around the Dean Dome waiting to go into a basketball game - it is quite of an attention grabber. Not that they don't look awesome, but is such an obvious accessory and people know you think it looks good.

I wish I still had some of the pictures of my best friend from home, Amelie, at the 6th grade dance in her black beret.... but, she'd probably kill me.

My college friends ceaselessly made fun of me because of my love of 'caps', and yet my insecurity in busting them out. Whatever, we all busted them out when we had the chance:

I have yet to try to pull off any of these trendy caps:

But despite my continual cap-as-fashion insecurities, I now have a daily sanctioned use of hats. anesthesiology. So... eat it, Alana and Angela, I'm going to wear my hats now (yes, I have bought all of these below... and only in my 3rd week!) and I'll look damn good in them!

A Pepper Scare....

2010-07-12T21:35:00.002-04:00

As all of you know, Piper and her sister and mother are celebredogs, otherwise known to Jimmy as DOG MODELS!

Fred and Kee, proud grandparents as they were, designed these wine bottles to send to the proud parents (aka, us Hlavaceks, Sasha, Laura/Paul, and grandparents-Hlavacek {jim and urs}).

{Dad loves to make fun wine bottles through Windsor Vineyard}

They will be on the cover of Orvis Dog Book this September! The website finally announced these three ladies as well as the other three cover winners.... See below:

However.... LOOK CLOSELY (& sideways)!!! OH NO! DAMN Pepper! Who would ever name their golden retriever "Pepper"??????

Phew... Sasha took care of it and it will be corrected for the REAL cover!!! No worries!! Also- How ironic that "CR" is from Chapel Hill too!!!

Happy Birthday America!

2010-07-03T19:02:00.007-04:00

My sister, her husband, and I traveled down to the best place on earth to be for the 4th of July: Pensacola.
Yes, despite all of the oil, it is still fabulous to be there and the party spirit is still alive!

What would the 4th be without...

homegrown tomatoes?

tomato pie?

fresh blueberries and strawberries?

or Joe Patti's???

and now officially...

2010-07-01T22:01:00.002-04:00

an anesthesiologist!

Today was orientation - a bit terrifying! Finally - about 10 years after I decided to go to med school, I finally begin the next years of training where what I do every day is what I want to be doing!

Hopefully my patients won't remember anything like this:

I Poo in Blue...

2010-06-29T23:59:00.001-04:00

best commercial ever...
what a little stud

Let the Stay-Cation begin!

2010-06-18T23:07:00.000-04:00

I am officially done with intern year... two weeks off before another phase of reality hits, let the stay-cation begin!

Jalapeno Poppers

2010-06-16T00:25:00.001-04:00

OK - so maybe these are no longer so original... but we have loved them twice this past month! Jimmy has claimed them as his "specialty," the first of hopefully many more...! {wishful thinking}

~20 jalapenos (you can half this recipe, or freeze some if so desired)
1 package cream cheese
1 package of bacon
toothpicks

Cut the jalapenos in half, strip away the seeds and inside (unless you like it hot hot!). Wash hands - don't rub in eyes!!! Stuff each half with cream cheese. Wrap with a little strip of bacon, and pierce with toothpick. Put on a slotted grill plate with foil underneath. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes-1 hour... make sure bacon is done and crispy!

Image and recipe from My Wooden Spoon

end of the year....

2010-06-10T19:03:00.002-04:00

End of the year party for Baptist residents !! - at A&B warehouse downtown Birmingham. Above is our favorite attending, Dr. Crain

Brad, Marly and myself

Sara with her two Kim's: Edge and Kimbot

Afterwards at Dram... then Innisfree (bad idea)

Rane, Sara, and Kramer

Marly and Jacob

Me, Marly, Erin, Sara, and Lauren

trust me... don't try the bacon-infused bourbon

A few days earlier at the LSU Florida SEC baseball tournament

Famous Furry Ladies!

2010-06-02T20:19:00.009-04:00

I now know the ultimate satisfaction - that of a parent whose dog has achieved the unachievable.... fame and stardom! Piper, Maddie, and Milly are the new COVERDOGS for Orvis! They will be on the cover in September of this year!!

Picture by Sasha taken at Paul and Laura's family beach house in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina when we went last March.

Little Pipes does not even know why we are popping the bubbly tonight and repeatedly dancing with her...

Dear Ms. Sasha Jenkins,
Congratulations! Your photograph of Milly, Maddie, and Piper was chosen from over 12,000 entries, as a WINNER of the 2010 Orvis Cover Dog photo contest. The photo captures a great moment and emotionally connects the viewer with the personalities of Milly, Maddie, and Piper.
With so many outstanding entries and only four mailings scheduled for the Orvis Fall 2010 Dog Book catalog (each mailing gets a different cover) we decided to expand our winners to include not only the four (4) front cover winners, but also eight (8) additional photos to be featured prominently inside the catalog. On two of our mailings, we are creating a special fold-out front cover that will each include two additional full-page winning images. There are also 4 winning images that will be featured as full pages inside the body of the catalog. Therefore, all of these images have been declared “winners” in the competition and will each be awarded a grand prize $500 gift card.
This e-mail hereby notifies you that you have won the grand prize including a $500 Orvis Gift card and publication of the winning photograph as described as follows, provided we have your compliance according to the contest rules.
Your winning photo will appear on the front cover of the Fall 2010 Orvis Dog Book catalog which will be arriving in mailboxes on or about September 10, 2010.
As soon as we have confirmation from each of our contest winners, we will announce all winners on our website at www.orvis.com/coverdog.
Thank you for entering and congratulations for winning our photo contest!
Best Regards,
Bill Eyre
Director of Advertising
The Orvis Company, Inc.

Go sign up for your free catalog now!!! Don't miss out!

the celebratory icecream scoops from Jimmy

Homemade Pasta and Tomato Leek Sauce

2010-06-01T09:31:00.001-04:00

My favorite dish to make when someone special is coming over! We got this recipe when in Italy, near Lake Como, during a private cooking class, and we have modified the sauce-part slightly to make the most light and satisfying dish... that happens to be vegetarian too!

For the pasta:

1 2-lb package of all-purpose flour

10 large eggs, close to room temperature

extra flour for dusting and rolling

For the sauce:

olive oil, up to 1/3 cup

1 group of leeks, chopped finely

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

2 lemons, both zested, and both juiced

Lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese

*Pasta:

Line wax paper, if desired, over flat tabletop to be used for making dough (or can clean with vinegar). Pour flour in a circle, with a bare spot in the middle to crack eggs. This should function like a bowl, look like a volcano with flour heaped up on the sides. Crack all of the eggs into the middle of the flour and begin to break up yolks and whites with fingers. Mix all eggs with fingers, and bit by bit work in the edges of the flour to the eggs. The egg mixture should slowly get thicker and thicker as the flour is worked in.

Take care to bring flour in from all sides of the volcano without letting the egg mixture spill out of holes in the 'wall'. Once the mixture is thickened and about 1/3rd of the flour is left, take the sides of the flour volcano and fold all of the flour into the egg mixture at once. This part seems like flour has gone everywhere... but knead the dough and work in the flour from the sides.

If dough seems dry, this is the point where you can add room temperature water to the mixture to make it the right stickiness. There will be some remaining dough clumps on the table that you won't be able to work into the dough once it has achieved a certain consistency. Let dough rest with saran wrap over.

Cut dough into 4 pieces. Individually, take each portion of the dough and form into a ball. Put the ball onto the freshly-floured surface and take fingertips to push out into a plate-shape. Roll with rolling pin, turning and re-flouring as needed, until it is paper-thin and even.

Flour the top side of the flattened dough circle. Lightly pick up the top of the circle and fold dough in half (half moon shape), without pressing. Dust more flour on the top of the half circle of dough, and again pick up the top and fold the dough onto itself, without pressing. One more time dust flour on the top and fold the dough. Now it should resemble a napkin log folded longways several times.

Take a knife, and cut the dough into strips with desired width.... I like my dough strips about the width of my fingers, to make dough like pappardelle. Can also make fettucini or linguini.

Then, toss the strips of dough up in the air to separate the strands so they are no longer folded on top of themselves, making little nests of dough. There will be a lot of extra flour, but it won't matter and will dissolve in the water and will not cook on the noodles.

To cook noodles, drop in salted water and cook until desired, about 5-10 minutes depending on how thick your dough is! Will make a TON, so you may want to save about half for future use.... or I just made it all and enjoyed it for a group of 6 and great leftovers.

Sauce:

Saute leeks in olive oil with garlic. When soft, add tomatoes.

Zest both lemons into mixture. Add salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, squeeze juice from both lemons and add ~1/4 cup olive oil and salt & pepper.

After pasta cooks, drain and put back in pot and add leek mixture in with pasta. Toss, then add the lemon juice/olive oil mixture for some extra ummph!! Toss in LOTS of cheese for the best pasta ever!

*Let's be honest. We don't always have time for freshly made pasta,
nonetheless hand-mixed and hand-rolled. This dish would be soooooo easy if we
bought the noodles at the store, but at least get the fresher kind from the
refrigerated section!

Goodbye to.... Office-Wear!

2010-05-31T14:20:00.000-04:00

I have officially finished the part of my career where I wear boring, old, saggy office pants! Sorry to say - but I much prefer the nice teals and aquas that are my scrubs! I have ER next month (scrubs every day) and then...tada... anesthesia from here on out!

So Jimmy and I took a nice trip to Target to buy more plastic containers for storage considering that about 1/2 of my closet is full of this dull stuff. Now I have more room to shop for fun clothes!

p.s. no more medicine call... ever again, either!

Amelie's Photos

2010-05-30T11:23:00.016-04:00

Amelie Yonge -
one of my mother's best friends and a second mother to me growing up... has found a new love for her camera! I have here a smattering of her favorites. The birds are from her backyard. Below is her daughter, my best friend Amelie, and her fiance Kent.

I forget the name of this little bird but he is just adorable. Like a little penguin. {the tufted titmouse... see here} He comes right up to her hand on the back porch and eats little mealworms! Buckwheat, their golden-lab mix, looks jealous from behind...

Potato and Pepper Curry

2010-05-25T20:22:00.000-04:00

I've been working with another resident at my program for the last two months, both for night float and this month while on nephrology... Her name is Saritha and she is from India originally and she inspired me to cook this yummy dish by simply mixing up some of my favorite ingredients! So easy and healthy!

1 white or yellow onion, chopped

1-2 Tbs olive oil

4 or 5 small red or white potatoes, in big chunks

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

water, approximately 1/3 - 1/2 cup

1 red and 1 green bell pepper, in small slices

5-6 basil leaves, coarsely chopped

2-3 chicken breasts, in big chunks

ground coriander seed

cumin

curry powder

garam masala (optional)

chili powder

ginger, ground or fresh

red pepper - flakes or ground

salt and pepper

tamarind chutney (optional)

white or jasmine rice, amount dependent on how much you want to eat!!

Saute the onions in olive oil in a dutch-oven type pan or any pan with a lid. Add the potatoes, garlic, and water. Add some of the seasoning and salt and let water come to a simmer with lid on. Let cook until potatoes have softened, approximately 20 minutes... but check often because you do not want them too soft.

While the potatoes are cooking, put the chicken pieces in another saute pan and saute with some olive oil and the seasonings and salt until brown on all sides and just cooked through.

At this time also cook some white rice, I typically make approximately 6 cups of prepared rice because Jimmy loves rice!

Add the peppers and the basil to the potatoes and stir. Add more seasoning and salt if needed. Saute for 5 minutes, then add chicken to the mixture and stir.

Put the pepper/potato/chicken mixture on top of cooked white or jasmine rice. One thing I learned when I made this is that we enjoyed it much more when we had mixed a pad of butter in with the mixture and did NOT put much of the water from the pan in... add extra red pepper flakes or cumin for a kick!