End of the week... pit and peak.

Yes, I watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians... it's a guilty pleasure.  But apart from entertaining crazy family drama and Kourtney's fabulous fashion takes, there are actually worth your while moments I find in that show.  One of the WYW moments would have to be sharing their pit and peak of the day.  As I wind up this week with a blog post, I'll talk about my pit and peak of the WEEK.
 My Pit:
... application crashed as I started my week.
... found out my 4-year-old nephew fell flat on his face on his birthday party (it's not even funny)!
... looking like an idiot in a meeting.
... having to work 12 hours every single day because there's just so much to catch up on (and still they keep piling up -- what's new?)
... finding my hubby looking tired and tulala at the end of day Friday.
My Peak:
... got a call from my 4 year-old nephew thanking me and hubby for the books we sent him (beyond cute)
... my American Idol being safe this week (my 50 online votes, countless calls, and hubby's text messages somehow made it through... yup, I'm surprised at myself too)
... hearing from a colleague that we work well together :-)
... having a friend over for dinner and a TV show impromptu and she liked my whatever's in the fridge penne
... oh, and I, together with another colleague, unexpectedly got filmed while having a meeting.  They were making this video for the CEO which should show clips of employees at work (while looking motivated and happy, ha!)... And before we could even say no, we ended up having 10 takes, which was funny because we had no script and had to improvise.  At the last take, we talked about the Oscars and being "born to act" while showing spreadsheets from a laptop!  Hilarious.

I'm glad the week is over and I'm ready to detoxify.  This Sunday will be interesting as we host a tea-time themed party.  And to get me inspired, tomorrow we'll go to this nice little cafe uptown for breakfast.  Not exactly English, but close enough. :-) Now that's starting the weekend with a peak... I hope so!

Fondue for Breakfast?

Why not? Just throw in some bread, eggs, coffee, and you're all set for a different kind of breakfast!  

(Don't I just love my new fondue set?!)

I made my fondue savory so it's actually made of cheese and wine (yes, this is breakfast ;-)).

Ingredients: 1/3 cup dry white wine, 1/3 cup shredded gruyere cheese, 1/3 cup shredded swiss cheese, 1 tsp of flour, pinch of nutmeg, salt, and cut up bread for dipping (I made freshly baked pillsbury french bread, which can be found in the frozen breads section)

Just melt everything together in your fondue bowl, starting with the wine, then gradually add the cheese. Add the flour and mix well so the bumps smoothen out.  Put some salt and nutmeg to taste.

I actually made this last Saturday to see how it will turn out for a tea party this coming weekend.  It was yummy, but probably I'd add more wine so it's more "liquid". Here's the actual recipe, but I had to modify it to serve just two people.

Tweet! Sunday Brunch

I got sick yesterday (yes, on a Saturday!! :-() and Bobby had to work... what a great way to start a weekend!  So apart from doing mandatory office work (I'll leave it at that), I half-slept the whole day - not the most comfortable situation, and this was mainly due to insanely painful headache with matching slight fever.  I planned to do so many things - create a fabric necklace, bake cookies, attend a birthday party, and go shopping.  None had been crossed out from my list... oh but except one thing which I didn't exactly plan for necessarily - make cheese fondue.  I'll post this soon.

So enough with my whining session as this morning was a little bit better (at least the weather was).  Since our Saturday morning routine had gone kaput, we opted for Sunday brunch at this uptown cafe called Tweet.  If you check out their site, you'll be drawn to the cuteness of it - well I was.  I can imagine my own cafe and have this kind of website - the colors and graphics are very warm and inviting.  And the menu exhibits not only your typical breakfast fare, but also has healthy options - you'll see the words "organic," "vegan," and "gluten-free".  I was definitely sold.

This place has always been on my list of breakfast places to try and so after a 20 minute commute, ahhh... we finally meet.  Okay... so, the exterior and interior design did not actually live up to the cuteness (almost Winnie-the-Pooh-like) of the website.  It was rather rustic and eclectic - too many colors going on and odd paintings filled the walls.  But it was not bad - it' just not what I expected.  Staff was very friendly and our waiter, Rex, had this "small-talk" thing going on -- I probably only understood half of what he said but I smiled (and sometimes made small laughs) politely.

Now for the food review.  Coffee - typical refillable taste.  They are very attentive to your coffee mug, refilling it so often even if you've just had a sip or two.  They have complimentary breakfast bread (so they call it), but it's actually cake-ish - sort of corn muffin but with blueberry flavor.  I liked it.  Bobby ordered the Denver Omelette - as you can see in the photo below, it was overflowing.  And I thought we're eating healthy haha!  It was good - you can't go wrong with ham, bell peppers, and onions, but what made it a little different and sinful is that it had cream cheese inside and out.  A lot of it.  It was also served with a cup of fresh fruits and english muffins with butter and jam.  Not bad for $11 because you can share this meal as it was a definitely large portion.  But of course we didn't share, tsk, tsk.

I had my usual Mexican selection... Chilaquiles.  Again, large portion and bursting with colors - definitely a feast for the eyes with all the cilantro, avocados, cheese, and sour cream.  I decided to go vegetarian on this and did not get chorizos with it.  Good idea.  I wasn't able to finish the whole thing!  It was okay for me, loved the first few bites, then it got overwhelming.  Too many tortillas, and the black beans were a little bland.  Would've wanted more salsa or mole, but the eggs and cheese made up for it.  XOCO still reigns supreme.  

And if those weren't enough, we also ordered a short stack of buttermilk pancakes for dessert.  Probably since it came with the main course, it already got cold and dry, but then freshly whipped butter saved the day!

I'm not jumping up and down (ala Randy Jackson of AI), but overall it was a good brunch.  The ingredients all looked and tasted fresh and unpretentious.  If there would be a next time, I'll make sure to just share with hubby, or cut back on the second main course.

Happy Friday Dinner & Fondue

Happy Friday!!!

Today, my friend, Janice, sent me an e-mail asking for the recipe of my go-to-no-fuss-chicken dish that can impress anyone (without trying so hard :-)).  It's actually my interpretation of Lemon Rosemary Chicken - i.e. the easy way!  I realized I had all ingredients available, so why not make it for dinner!  I loved my hubby's reaction when he saw the dinner table and gushed, "Wow!!! My favorite dish... after a long day at work"!  Gave me somewhat a kilig feeling heehee!  Truly, the way to my man's heart is through his stomach.

Ingredients: Chicken legs (better to use quarters), lemon juice & rind, olive oil (butter is also good), garlic powder, rosemary, salt & pepper.  For the gravy: Chicken drippings, butter, chicken bouillon, flour, water.

Step 1: Marinate chicken in all the ingredients for at least 30 minutes.

Step 2: Bake in the oven at 375 F for 45 mins to an hour.

Step 3: After baking the chicken, remove the drippings and add in a saucepan.  Add a tablespoon of butter, one chicken bouillon, a tablespoon of flour, and about 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until it becomes gravy-thick.

Step 4: Serve with steamed rice and sprinkle with parsley flakes.

During our Columbus trip, our host served us chocolate fondue with strawberries which we enjoyed so much that she thought it would be nice to give each one of us a fondue set to commemorate that experience (isn't that the sweetest?!)!  So... with melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream, hubby and I relived our Columbus dessert nights... complete with fresh strawberries and marshmallows.  Oh, and of course, with the addition of hot decaf latte.  Just perfect.  

Thank you Seema!

Friday night at home for married couples - boring?  Nah.  It's simply bliss.

National Siblings Day?

What the heck... it's not everyday I pay tribute to my lovely sisters!

To Ate Jo and Apple:

You know I love you!!!

XOXO,
Duday/Ate Duds

God's Best

Today is not only Easter Sunday, but this is also our 37th wedding monthsary (yes, I know, it's cheesier than cheese!)!  To celebrate, we had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Grand Lux Cafe.

As you may have noticed, my favorite photography subject, is none other than my hubby Bobby (nice ring to it, huh?)!  So just like in my other post, here's what he would be thinking in these photos...

1: "Sarap nito, galing talaga pumili ni wifey... buti di namin kinuha yung onion soup"

2: "Mmm... sana magaya ni wifey ang recipe nito... I'm sure iblo-blog na naman niya to mamaya"

3. "Thank you Lord for this Chicken and Mushroom soup..."

4. "... and for wifey!"

Hahaha, that's my version of the story at least. :-)

Seriously... As for me, what makes this day extra special is knowing how blessed I am.  True, not everything I've been hoping for had come just yet.  But I truly believe I've been given God's best, so I know I'll be alright. Always.

Finally... m.henry... then, panini.

Bobby and I are back to our Saturday morning routine - a.k.a. breakfast anywhere but home!  We missed it last weekend because of our Columbus trip so today we went to this popular Chicago breakfast place/bakery called "m. henry". And this time around, two friends came with us, so it was extra fun - and I got to try more dishes hehehe!  So here goes...

Restaurant's interior - a little of country, whimsy, and modern... very cozy.
I think they also have a dining area in the garden, but it might have been closed due to cold weather.

Works of art: dulce banana rumba french toast, huevos borrachos (with chorizo, eggs, bean cakes, and masa tortilla - again, with my mexican breakfast craving), and chocolate french toast with berries, mascarpone cheese and chocolate ganache (the last one was Bobby's and I find it cute that he said, "parang pang girl 'tong sa kin hehehe"!)

Rustic peasant quiche and two happy customers

Ahhh... Saturday sunshine!  Great way to start the day!  

I'm so glad that the taste kept up with the plating.  

Definitely inspiring... so...

I spent the rest of the day shopping and watching "Hunger Games" with hubby... ok, seriously (but those were true too :-)), I decided to finally use our cuban sandwich/panini maker which was already gathering dust because it's never been used (got it from White Elephant back in December).  I've probably looked at the recipe for a Cuban Sandwich more than ten times in the last four months, but always managed to forget about it.  I don't know why!  Anyway, it was definitely a success and I was able to get my hubby to eat pickles and mustard with his sandwich and most importantly, no mayo!

The Cuban Panini

Ingredients: Rustic Wheat Bread (baguettes will do), Pickles (I used sweet ones), Dijon Mustard, Butter, Roast Pork, Sweet Ham, Provolone Cheese

Just pile all the ingredients inside the bread (except the butter) then spread the butter on top of the bread.

Grill for about 5 minutes (up to you really, how much you want it toasted/crispy)... 

Cut into half and serve with potato chips. For hubby, I used Sour Cream and Onion pringles!

It was really tasty - the secret to a good panini?  Freshly baked bread, good cheese, and of course, the right amount of grilling.  I think this panini maker will be my best friend for more laid back Saturday nights...