Shrimp Paesano

Jeremy and I had our first real date at Paesanos here in San Antonio....could that be over 9 years ago... eeek! We still love to go there for a nice "date night" even if Jeremy hates the term! =) It is a nice place to relax and we always go to the 1604 location and get an outside table by the koi pond... and get some good grub!

My favorite thing to order there is their signature dish, Shrimp Paesano.

So we decided to try making it on our own version of it last night...

Jeremy is convinced that I cannot cook without destroying the kitchen... he may be on to something!

But as everything started to come together, I actually was impressed with our shrimp knockoff capabilities! (We can't get sued for this, right?)

Okay, so maybe not Food & Wine magazine presentation style, but we both were impressed! Here's the recipe for those adventurous ones out there!

This recipe is to serve 2 but can easily be doubled again and again to serve as many as you need.

1 Pound jumbo shrimp, peeled, cleaned & deveined
1 C. approx., half & half
Flour for dredging
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 T. olive oil
1 stick of butter, divided
1 egg yolk
½ of a lemon, juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Parsley & chives for garnish

SHRIMP PREP:
Soak shrimp in half and half for about 10 minutes. Drain and dredge in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Saute in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Do not turn. Remove and place in oven proof baking dish in preheated oven on broil.
While shrimp is in oven, prepare sauce.

SAUCE PREP:
Combine egg yolk and lemon juice in heavy saucepan. And ½ stick of butter and melt over low-med heat. Add garlic and remaining ½ stick of butter. Continue to cook until thickened.
Remove shrimp from oven. Pour sauce over shrimp and garnish with parsley and chives to serve.

Still Celebrating Christmas

So we are still celebrating Christmas here...well, at least still eating Christmas goodies. Jer bought this Rice Krispie Holiday House kit and we didn't find any time to do it before the holidays. So this weekend sounded like the perfect time!
I guess this shows I have little to no creativity, because when I read "Holiday House" that is exactly what I created....

While Jeremy opted for house turned person...with a big fro!

I actually think he inadvertently created Harry Potter....do you see the similarity? ...minus the gum drop beard of course! =)

This is only extra hilarious to me because Jeremy would rather eat raw broccoli than read a Harry Potter book!

Christmas in Dallas

Jer and I arrived in Dallas around midnight on the 23rd. The good news, we didn't hit too much traffic on the way up...the bad news...it was crazy foggy on the drive up.

We had about 1/2 a day to run around on the 24th to get some last minute Christmas gifts and then we headed over to Jesuit for the Christmas Eve Mass. Here, Mom and I are stylin' and ready to go...
And it was just about this time that we saw what the boys were wearing...all THREE of them were in Argyle sweaters...almost to the point that it looked like we had coordinated it. Jeremy was not too happy to wear Argyle in the first place...so I don't think he was too impressed to be one of the 3 Musketeers for Christmas either! =)

But, I have to admit, it did make a pretty nice looking Christmas photo!

Once we got back from church it was time for a nice little meal. We were having Thanksgiving dinner at Christmas....and Jeremy was in charge of the ambiance...
Then we opened the traditional one Christmas eve gift for each person. Ryan and I have an ornament tradition...and each year we buy a "family" ornament to commemorate the year. Yes folks, we are those people who buy the ornaments from those carts in the mall with the clay characters....someone has to! =)
Then the last-minute wrapping commenced. The whole family is wrapping presents in the same room, but we put up barriers so you can't see what everyone else is wrapping. Jeremy was helping me come up with good clues to write on the gifts... I think he helped on one... and then he just stole my hat and laid down to watch! =)

Then we woke on Christmas morning and the unwrapping began... we didn't finish until 3:00pm! Here's Dad with a framed article from his football days!

And then, the best gift ever... and believe me this will take an entire blog entry to explain at some time... but I gave Jeremy a "Troll on a Roll!" More on this later!

And finally...after all of that hard work we needed to relax... a hot tub was in order!

We took a great walk over at White Rock Lake on Sunday!

And I tried to do push-ups on the kitchen counter...you know, all those normal holiday activities!

Finally it ended with a new family board game... Jenga. Jer found this new version because I think he was going to go crazy if we made him play the same old one again! The family turned out to be smarter than the game - and I think we defeated the maximum number of hanging blocks by the second game!

All in all! It was a great time in Dallas - and we're looking forward to New Years... 2010 here we come!

Thanks for Nothing!

So I went to my mailbox the other day and saw that I had received a postcard from the "Muddy Buddy" organization....the two races that Molly and I participated in this year. At first glance I thought, "Wow, why did they send me a photo of these 13 year old competitors?" It would have been a lot more powerful if they had sent me a postcard with Molly and I going across the finish line.

Then I took a closer look....yes, in fact they did send me a photo of Molly and I crossing the finish line...we are the two goobers behind the people in the white t-shirts. It is kind of like a "Where's Waldo" but looking for the girls in hot pink covered in mud!
Needless to say I do have this on my refrigerator...even if we are only "background" in the photo!" =)

Happy Anniversary M&D

Look at that handsome couple and those sideburns! No wonder Ryan and I came out looking so cute. Today I just wanted to acknowledge my parents' anniversary! Congratulations Mom and Dad! Here's to 37 years and many more to come!

1/2 Marathoner

I was up in Dallas this week and had the chance to see my brother run in his first 1/2 marathon. I have to say it was an impressive feat! Here's a little more about Sunday's race...the White Rock Marathon....

Mom, Dad, and I grabbed a great spot around mile 4.5 and waited for the race to begin... with Starbucks in hand!

Here's the first runner speeding by...making it look so easy!

And there we spot Ryan in the distance...

Getting closer!

Ohh, yea! He is making this look easy!

Then Santa came by...

And so did Speedy Gonzalez!

I couldn't believe how packed the road got just a few minutes after Ryan went by us.

We walked over to the 10 mile mark and waited about 25 minutes for Ry's next appearance. At this point there is just a little over 3 miles left in the race, so we were hoping to give him an extra cheering boost to get him across the line!

Here he comes again...

Oh, fist pump and everything - he's looking good.

And a high-five for good luck...er a low five.

We jumped in the car and raced for the finish line and got there just in time to see him cross the line, but not to take a photo of it! He made it in 1hr 30min 45sec... averaging 6:54 miles....that is crazy! I don't think I can get one mile in that time, let alone a 1/2 marathon of it!
Here he is with Ian - a good buddy from high school - Ian asked if they could "pick a race that is fun next time!" What...grueling 13 mile runs aren't doing it for you? =) I still don't know if I ever want to attempt this some day. Here's Ry doing his best "blue steel" look.

And finally... the supportive family! Why do I still look like the shortest one even with the big puffy pink hat on?! =)

Lizzie Cezar

Last month you saw how my name "might" be construed for "Maria." But this past Monday took the cake...I mean this is even better than the "Tori", "Lauren," and "Cory" that I get on my Starbucks cups!

I had a meeting at Valero, a company in SA, and I happily pulled up to the visitor parking ramp and was faced with one of those gray boxes, where I was obliged to press a red button to talk to security...here's how it went:

Security: What is your name and business?
Rory: My name is Rory Siefer and I am here for an 8:30 meeting
Security: Let me check the list.... (long pause)
Security: You say your name is "Lizzie Cezar."
Rory: No, that would be R...O....R...Y.... S....I...E....F...E..R.
Security: Because, we don't have a Lizzie Cezar on our list.
Rory: No, that's because my name is "Rory Siefer."
Security: Oh, okay, I see, well come in then!

That has to be my favorite mispronunciation so far...and now Jeremy has decided that might be my covert FBI operative name.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.... Love, Lizzie!