Kielbasa with Poblanos

There are some dishes I've learned are pretty much sure-fire hits with Sean and by extension, most men in general. Irish stew. Spaghetti with meat sauce. Burgers. Steak. But when I made kielbasa with onions, poblano peppers and roasted potatoes the other night, Sean said I'd done it. I'd made his perfect meal. 

Sausage and peppers are a sort of no-fail mix. Usually I've made Italian sausage with bell peppers, but when I saw Bon Appetit's recipe for kielbasa and poblano peppers, I was intrigued. I think I might make the permanent switch!

Start by slicing up green peppers, poblano peppers and onions to suit your taste. Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper. If you want to add potatoes to your dish, follow the directions here. Start by pre-heating your oven to 350.

On a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, place your peppers in the center and top with diagonal slices of kielbasa. Top with another sheet of foil and crimp into a tight packet.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, so the peppers get soft and the potatoes get crispy.

Cut the packet open to release the air and expose the top, then turn on the broiler. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the kielbasa looks crispy. That's when you know it's gonna be good.

And voila! The man equivalent of catnip. It was delicious, and the poblanos weren't overwhelmingly spicy as I'd feared. The potatoes dull the spiciness a bit; I could do without them, but Sean appreciated their presence.

Sunday Best v. 132

An idea from Southern Living: decorate with mercury glass and rosemary. I bet that house smells AMAZING. I was so busy this weekend I nearly forgot to post my Sunday Best, so you must forgive me.

• Hilarious shots of Hillary Clinton.
• Amen! An open letter to the job market.
• Did you watch "Freaks and Geeks?" Check out this amazing reunion photo just to get a reminder of how many amazing careers that show launched.
• Fascinating perspective from a mom of grown sons.
• An incredible cord that can serve as a smart phone tripod.
• At their wedding, this couple displayed their middle school love letter.
• You think you worry about what to wear to interviews? What people wore to interview with Vogue's Anna Wintour.
• Key and Peele's hilarious send-up of my favorite creepy holiday croon.
• Kate Middleton's schoolgirl days.
• A writing assignment from the master, Kurt Vonnegut.

Jams of the Week

Music Jam: "All I Want For Christmas" Fallon Style

How can you not love this song, especially with the joie de vivre of elementary school instruments?

Snack Jam: Sonoma Jack cheese wedges

I pick up these cheese wedges at World Market, but I'm sure you can get them elsewhere. Like Babybel's, they're kind of soft but come in all kinds of different flavors and the most clever packaging. I took a box to work and, with pretzel chips, the snack got me through two days!

Candy Jam: Dove Peppermint Bark Candy

I'm kind of obsessed with Dove's peppermint bark "promises." I always grab one and then end up sneaking four more, each time saying, "Just another...just another...just another." I'm in full-on Christmas candy mode at home.

Nail Jam: Revlon's "Midnight"

Revlon is my favorite cheapie nail polish at the moment, and I love this navy shade that looks like the night sky.

Today I Like ... Hitchcock's Women

There are not one, but two, movies out right now about Hitchcock and his starlets. One, on HBO, portrays his svengali-like relationship with star Tippi Hedren. The other documents the making of "Psycho." 

Hitchcock is famous for forcing his idea of beauty and style on his starlets, much like Jimmy Stewart's character in "Vertigo." He loved icy blondes, impeccably turned out with tiny waists and chic, simple silhouettes. I think we can agree, though, he might have been on to something. 

How perfect is this pumpkin ensemble, worn by Eva Marie-Saint in North by Northwest, found on Le Monochromatic.

Or this timeless black-and-white combo on Kim Novak, star of "Vertigo?"

Or the ever-elegant Grace Kelly, wearing red lace in "Dial M for Murder," photo found here.

Get the Look

1. No Hitchcock femme fatale can step out without her strand of pearls. Kate Spade, $128.
2. The perfect black dress to wear when spying on the neighbors. Modcloth, $140.
3. A daring color in a demure cut, Toga dress, $225.
4. Pack a little punch in a simple kitten heel with leopard print, Debenhams, $89.
5. The Hitchcock woman doesn't do casual. An easy day would still call for a tight sweater, like this one from The North Face and...
6. this pencil skirt from J. Crew.
7. Always a lady, the Hitchcock woman packs gloves. Not a speck of dirt would stick to these long leather gloves, $98 from Max Studio.
8. Keep the gloves stashed with a weapon of choice in this Ted Baker bowler bag.
9. And last, but certainly not least, a swipe of lipstick, like this one from Giorgio Armani.

Tupelo Honey Carrots

I'm trying lots of new recipes to make side dishes of veggies a little more interesting, and this is one I think Sean enjoyed but we can't consciously call "healthy." 

Tupelo Honey Cafe's recipe for honey-glazed carrots calls for blanching the carrots in boiling water for 7 minutes, until tender, then placing in a skillet with a tablespoon or two of butter, salt and pepper.

When you feel confident the carrots are tender and nicely covered in warm, fattening butter, then add honey to taste. I just squeezed honey on there for a while and then stirred to mix the butter and honey and make sure the carrots were well-coated.

These would be best warm, but were already cooling by the time we ate them and were still delicious. I would have used a little extra salt — I love the contrast — but sugar-lovers would like them just the way they are. I imagine this would be a great way to get little ones to eat their carrots at suppertime, but would maybe try to curb some of the butter usage.

Parsley-Crusted Lamb Chops

Sean's favorite entree is lamb chops, and I think it would be fair to say my favorite food is breading, so when I spotted Tupelo Honey Cafe's recipe for parsley-crusted lamp chops with dijon demi-glace, I thought it would be a home run. 

And it conceivably could have been, but I have a very bad habit of not having quite the right recipes on hand and sometimes making substitutions can get you into a bit of trouble. I didn't have canola oil, so I subbed vegetable oil and I'm guessing that might have something to do with why I burnt the breading long before the meat was fully cooked. Story of my life. Otherwise, these were super tasty...dijon mustard goes a long way and the parsley gave it another layer of flavor.

First things first, pulse panko bread crumbs and parsley to create a coating. Slather your lamb chops with dijon mustard and then coat the chops with the panko-parsley mixture. Meanwhile, heat oil (preferably canola) on medium-high heat and add the chops.

The recipe suggests cooking for 3 minutes on each side...I found it took longer.

Earlier in the night, I made demi-glace (you can easily buy it, but it wasn't super hard to make and I happened to have most of the ingredients minus tomato paste...I subbed ketchup, LOL). Use 2 cups of the demi-glace and add a tablespoon of dijon to make a sauce for the lamb chops.

The dish looked pretty sad once plated, I must say, but it was tasty. Sean proclaimed, "I would eat this every time you make it." Um, thanks honey. I would hate to go to the trouble of making it and have you refuse to eat it! 

Read on for the recipe:

Christmas Wrapping 2012: Green and Gold

Here it is!!! The unveiling of my 2012 Christmas Wrapping color scheme...hahaha. I'm sure you've all waited with baited breath. This year, I opted to go for a rich-looking green and gold scheme...locals might be convinced I was a William & Mary grad! I daresay this is the best scheme yet; Sean says it looks rich. I bought about 4 rolls of gold paper but had a VERY hard time finding green paper that wasn't specifically holiday themed.

Then I had a stroke of genius! I decided to buy sheets of scrapbooking paper at my local craft store to wrap small gifts, thus incorporating green. Because most sheets are between 40 and 60 cents each, it was an absolute steal. 

I tried to get a huge variety of patterns...I picked up the peacock paper at TJ Maxx, the neon yellow-and-gold paisley at Target, the glitter polka dot at Target, the gold calligraphy flourish paper in the wedding section at Target and the green paper at the craft store. The green burlap ribbon is from World Market...I also ordered some velvet ribbon that hasn't made it yet, but will grace the next round of gifts. Believe it or not, I still have shopping to do...stepfamilies get BIG!

I spotted the pretty mint paper at World Market and bought the glitter flowers in the holiday section at Target. 

My favorite might be the scrapbook paper printed with a photo of evergreen trees; I thought it was manly and quirky, so I used it to wrap a gift for my dad. 

If you're curious to see my wrapping schemes, dating all the way back to 2006, click here.

Sunday Best v.131

Isn't this just the best time of the year? You have to love festive decorations, like the wreathes on this Virginia stone house from Traditional Home. Forgive the lack of Sunday Best last week...the holiday got the best of me. Enjoy!

• The live This American Life looks amazing. Must make time to watch!
• Ever had your Pinterest-inspired craft go awry? You're not alone.
• A pretty accurate depiction of living with cats vs. living with dogs. I don't care, cats are still my fave.
• Relive 2012's best memes.
• Create beautiful street art with spray chalk.
• The highly accurate Shit Southern Women Say.
• A fascinating look at the fashion of newswomen.
• Documentation that proves Robert Pattinson hates his life.
• Is the internet actually getting nice?
• I miss Oprah's crazy sounds.

Jams of the Week

TV Jam: "Homeland"

In April, Sean and I watched the premiere of "Homeland" on our flight back from Ireland and from that moment, I knew we were in for it. Our friend Ashleigh took one for the team and subscribed to Showtime, so we've been popping over to her house to have 7-episode marathons and get caught up! Don't tell me anything that happens!!!! It's that good.

Reading Now: "Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver

I'm not prepared to call this a jam just yet, mainly because I haven't gotten very far, but my dad got me Barbara Kingsolver's new book, "Flight Behavior," for my birthday. It takes place not far from where I grew up (theoretically...the location is fictional), so that's very intriguing. I find her descriptions and the dialogue are very authentic and familiar. 

Hometown Music Jam: The Last Bison

Sean and I have been keeping up with Bison, now called The Last Bison, for about a year now, but finally got to see them on Wednesday night at 96x's Winter Meltdown. They are absolutely on par with the best multi-instrumentalist folk bands out there, a mix of Decembrists-meets-Edward Sharpe-meets-Carter Family. They hail from Chesapeake, and we couldn't be prouder of them.

Holiday Scent Jam: MELT Winter Pine candle

I'm not a super candle person usually...I don't mind burning one when things seem to be getting a little rank up in here, but I don't burn one every minute of the time I'm at home. I also have a weird hatred of Yankee Candle's jars (i dunno...they're not very classy, in my opinion) and I hate how conspicuous the labeling is on all of their products, so I tend to shy away from them. 

BUT I was really craving that Christmas smell of trees and magic, so I picked up this candle at Target, which is from their collaboration with Nest candles, and it smells lovely. The jar is also super pretty and understated, just clear with an etched Moroccan pattern. I've been burning it every day when I get home and it might have converted me to becoming a Candle person.

Chicken with Peach BBQ Sauce

I'm always looking for ways to spice up the standard chicken breast. I should have known Gwyneth Paltrow would have the answer. The high priestess of living the good life whips up peach bbq sauce to give her chicken a distinctive flavor. I LOVED it...Sean LIKED it; I think he would have preferred less ketchup.

The sauce is pretty easy to make with pantry and freezer staples. Bring a mixture of chopped frozen peaches (thawed), ketchup, lemon juice, garlic cloves and adobo sauce to a boil, then turn the heat down to let it simmer until the peaches are soft.

Once the mixture has cooled a bit, put it in a blender and puree. Marinate the chicken breasts, already sprinkled with salt and pepper, in the puree for 20 minutes (or refrigerated up to 8 hours and turned occasionally). 

Grill the chicken breast on medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side, then brush reserve sauce on the breasts and grill 2 additional minutes. Make sure you saved some sauce to serve with the dish!

I had just enough left to pour over the breasts, and it was delicious. I would actually put in more peaches next time...adobo can be overpowering. Also: this recipe made enough for about two breasts, in my opinion, so I would maybe double it if I have a bigger group or want to save some.