holidays – Lauren Warnecke

Valentine’s Day Surf and Turf on the Cheap

Many a Valentines Schmalentines have been spent drinking alone in a bubble bath. I’m not a fan of Hallmark holidays in general, and especially ones that also, typically, break most people’s New Years resolutions.

But I have to say, this Valentine’s Day rocked. We opted to stay in and cook, and did a damn fine job of it, too. I pulled some pork chops out of the freezer, and we found a really good bargain on seafood at the grocery store this week. Add some crusty bread and roasted asparagus, and voila! Delish. And inexpensive.

This feast of pork, lobster tails and opilio crab is likely to cost at least $25 an entree at a restaurant, plus wine, plus valet, plus tip, plus stupid traffic (and the traffic WAS extremely stupid that day). We figured we came in at about two for the price of one, BOGO, if you will, and didn’t have to put shoes on. Win win.

Boiled Crab Legs

(courtesy of Betty Crocker, and in case you missed this recipe the first time…)

In a big, covered soup pot, boil water seasoned with Old Bay, lemon wedges, parsley, and celery.

When water is boiling, drop crab in until submerged and cover.

If not able to fully submerge, turn the crab occasionally to ensure equal cooking time.

For live crab, cook until pink, about 20 minutes. The legs from the grocery store take about half that time.

Remove from pot, cool until able to handle, and serve with melted butter doused with lemon juice.

Prepping for Strawberry Shortcake (but this is the topic of another post...) — Prepping for Strawberry Shortcake (but this is the topic of another post…)

Creamed Corn is Actually Delicious!

This post comes from my Mom, Cheryl, who I’ve finally coerced into giving up her recipe for creamed corn. I know what you’re thinking… Creamed corn? But there’s nothing quite like this. It’s a staple at my family’s holiday table, and perhaps you’ll add it to yours this year too…

—

A little history on this recipe:

When I was growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area my Dad had a favorite restaurant called Gullivers. He would love to gather the whole family there as often as budget and time allowed. It was a meat and potatoes place and designed along the lines of King Arthur’s court. It was a huge beamed room with wooden tables and benches and everything was served on pewter dishes. They served the best prime rib around. All the servers were dressed in period costumes and the food was awesome, the atmosphere loud and bawdy and it was a great fun place to go. As we got older and our family grew, we went to Gullivers less and less simply because it was too hard to get everyone there at the same time and no one had the money. We were all starting our families, buying houses etc. So my dad got the idea to create Gullivers at home!

He could do the prime rib and the Yorkshire pudding and the garlic mashed potatoes, and serve the wine, but he simply could not recreate the best side dish ever. Gullivers made a creamed corn that was to die for. My dad tried and tried and it just wasn’t the same. So he went back to Gullivers and simply asked for the recipe. The manager claimed that they could not give it out. My dad did not give up easily once he got something in his head. So, my dad being my dad, simply charmed one of the female servers and she gave him the recipe!

It became a Clements family tradition that every Christmas my dad served prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, and Gullivers corn. When I moved to Colorado and wasn’t near my family for the holidays, I asked my dad for the recipe so that I could continue the tradition for my own family. All these years later, it is still a staple at our Christmas table and is so popular that it even shows up at Thanksgiving alongside the turkey. I have now passed the recipe along to my children so that they can continue to carry on the tradition. Literally, every time I make it, I think very tenderly of my dad! I hope you will enjoy it as well!

Gullivers’ Corn

Ingredients:

20 oz frozen corn
8 oz whipping cream
8 oz milk
1 tsp salt
6 tsp sugar
pinch of white pepper

ROUX:

2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp flour

Mix corn, cream, milk, salt, sugar, pepper in a sauce pan. Cook on LOW heat until bubbly.
Watch carefully so it does not boil. Cook about six minutes. Longer is ok as long as you keep the heat on LOW.
Make the roux and add in small batches.
Continue to stir to mix in roux and keep the heat low until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.

Makes about six good size servings. I don’t know if it freezes well because I have never had any leftovers!

Obligatory Blog Post About Being Thankful on Thanksgiving

If you decide to take a little time today between the food and the family and the football to check the interwebs, I’m sure I will be one of perhaps millions of blog posts appropriately themed on being Thankful. We bloggers are smart like that in that we’ve figured out that readers generally like posts that are timed well to a particular holiday or event. So what is going to make my blog post about what I’m thankful for stick out more than any other that pops up in your newsfeed?

Not much. Probably….

But in spite of my self-loathing lack of confidence that I stand out among other thankful-themed posts, and the honest belief that very few people read my blog on a regular basis (thanks Mom and Julie)… I’m going to do it anyway.

2012 has been a year of drastic changes in my life. I moved. My relationships with friends and family have changed. My job(s) have changed. I have withstood heartache, hardship, and more change in one year than a person should be able to handle. While I’ve alluded ambiguously to some of these over the last several months, a rant on gratitude won’t be the thing that causes me to spill on my personal life, but I will say that the year has brought with it a total shift in my mentality, my self-worth, and ultimately my happiness.

I think I had been craving a life that’s less complicated. A life where the “stuff” around you doesn’t matter. A simple life that I can actually afford. Working an average of 60 hours a week for four months hasn’t exactly brought me to the simple life I envision, but my frame of mind has completely shifted. I am better able to recognize what I need, and what I don’t. I’m better able to take care of relationships with the friends who matter, and let go of the “friends” who don’t. I’m living closer to Earth; eating more vegetables than burritos. All in all, I’m grateful for who I am, and I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have.

When I started this blog, I’m pretty sure THAT was my ultimate goal… exploring a simple life in a big city and finding myself in the process.

And, let’s be honest, I’m pretty awesome.

Oh, that, and, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be thankful for the meal that is about to make its way to my face in a couple hours. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pickled beets, the family’s famous Gulliver’s Corn (don’t worry, I’ve been begging Mom to write a guest post so you can get your hands on the recipe), and a homemade(ish) pie from yours truly.

Apple. With homemade whipped cream.

Delicious.

Merry, happy, and a shot of Kahlua

Nothing says Christmas like a hot cup of cocoa with a blanket, family gathered around the hearth, and an overflowing jigger of Kahlua.

Instant hot cocoa mix

recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

Ingredients:

2 – 1/2 C. dry, non-fat milk

2 C. confectioner’s sugar

1 C. cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 pinch cayenne (optional)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients until combined. To prepare, mix 2 heaping tablespoons mix with 8 oz. hot water. Add Kahlua (optional) and enjoy.

Delicioso.

Damn you, foam roller!

I have a secret to tell you.

I’m a fitness instructor who doesn’t go to the gym that often…. shhh!!

I hate to admit it, but I’ve been to my local Ballys (now LA Fitness) exactly once since I moved (last February). I’m a prime example of a person that had a routine (we were going at least twice a week), and lost it as soon as something (or lots of things) changed in my life.

Ok, look, during the year I teach a grand total of 18 fitness classes a week, work 12 hour days, commute 20 miles a day on bike, and operate a small dance company. So that’s my excuse. But in the “off-season”, that is, the break between semesters, I decided it was time to make good on the $25 a month that is deducted from my account every month.

I’ve been wanting to grab some new tips for the workouts I give in class, and make sure I look ripped on the first day of the semester in January. Determined to not wait for another “tomorrow”, or, God help us, until January 1 to go back to the gym, I boldly went where no Lauren (that’s me) has gone before: a Pilates class.

I hate Pilates.

It doesn’t make sense to me and just makes my neck hurt. But, I recognize that people who do Pilates regularly look extremely buff. I haven’t taken a Pilates class, in fact, since college, and after going I pretty much feel the same way about it that I did before.

Except, perhaps, for the foam roller.

This thing is awesome, and something I never knew could be incorporated into a Pilates workout. Providing both cushion and support, and a wicked test of balance, that little log of foam kicked my ass. And I like a good ass kicking now and again.

I love that feeling after you work out. That soft pain developing in your muscles, adrenaline pumping through you. And, Pilates aside, today I feel that, and I want to feel it again tomorrow.

Foam roller, I think I’m in love with you.

Long story short, the holidays are tough for me… primarily due to my loves for cheesy made-for-TV movies and pie. I work really hard and when I get the chance to relax I often relax hard too. However, when I squeeze back into those tiny stretch pants I wear every day at work, I want to feel confident. I’d like to know that the students are looking at my face and not my butt. Or, if they are looking at my butt, they’re thinking, “Man alive! She must work out”.

Because, you know, of course I do!