Decadence equals Baked Rigatoni with Bechamel Sauce

Yeah, yeah . . . I'm still working on my New Year's resolutions and all but when a friend posted this recipe on Facebook a week ago, my mouth watered and I told myself I had to make it . . . and soon.

I'm happy to say that so far I've lost a couple of pounds and three inches since I started my workout and clean eating regime Jan. 3rd. However, if I keep eating like this, I will quickly reverse that trend.

I seized the opportunity tonight when Curt said he was having some friends over to watch football. Yay! I can try out this dish AND share it. Eureka!! Another hit. And the best part is that the platter was licked clean so there are no lefto's taunting me.

It's back to carrots celery sticks tomorrow. But for tonight, this was amazing!

It's the perfect cold winter night dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Bechamel sauce:

• 1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 quart whole milk, at room temperature
• Pinch fresh nutmeg
• Sea salt and white pepper
• 1 cup grated fontina
• 1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, julienned
• 1 pound dry rigatoni
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Bechamel sauce:

In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Always stirring, gradually add the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg, 1/2 cup fontina, prosciutto and season with salt and white pepper. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add the rigatoni and cook for about 5 minutes. Since you will be cooking thepasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is still hard. Drain in a colander. Return pasta to the pot and pour in bechamel sauce. Using a wooden spoon, mix well until all the pasta is coated with the sauce.

Into a greased 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pour the pasta with cream sauce. Smooth out top and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup fontina. Dot the top with diced butter and bake in oven for 25 minutes or until bubbling and the top is golden brown.

The national dish of Switzerland

It's January. It's cold. The snow is falling.

Those conditions often make me yearn for a good fondue.

I first tasted this concoction in 1988. It was January and I was living in Biel, Switzerland at the time. (Officially renamed Biel/Bienne in 2005, I just discovered, because of it's bilingual nature. Cool.)

There were many hole-in-the-wall fondue restaurants in Biel and we found our favorites. I don't recall their names but I will never forget the taste of the Kirsch-laden cheesy pot and crusty, rustic bread. I was in love.

When I returned to the states, I found a fondue pot much like the ones used in the restaurants in Switzerland. I'm still making fondue out of that same pot. More love.

The picture I scanned is the front page of a brochure that includes the recipe I follow religiously. This brochure traveled home with me from Switzerland and I've held onto it ever since. I'm a purist when it comes to fondue. Although instead of just bread chunks, I do add some blanched vegetables now for variety and a little balance.

The following recipe serves 4 people as a main course -- basically about a quarter pound of cheese per person. Adjust the amounts depending on how many people you're serving.

Classic Fondue

1 clove garlic (plus more)

1-1/2 cups dry white Swiss wine

1/2 lb Emmentaler cheese

1/2 lb Gruyere

Kirsch

cornstarch

Rub inside of pot with cut garlic clove. Place pot on stove. Pour wine into pot. Heat over medium flame until wine is hot but not boiling. Add handfuls of cheese (cut up in chunks or shredded), stirring constantly with wooden spoon until cheese is melted and the cheese-wine mixture has the appearance of a light creamy sauce. In a separate bowl, stir in 3 tablespoons of Kirsch mixed with 1 tablespoon corn starch. Pour that mixture into the fondue and allow to boil for approximately 15 seconds.

Remove the pot and place on a lighted burner on top of the table.

I also throw in some garlic cloves while the cheese is half-way melted. And the meal isn't complete without cornichons!

In Switzerland, many people like to have a shot of Kirsch at each place-setting so you can dip your bread into the Kirsch before dipping into the cheese. THAT makes for a crazy night!

For some great pictures, check out this blog.

The BEST part is that crust of cheese that forms at the bottom of the pot. YUM!

A Kissing Custom

If when dunking her bread into the Fondue, a lady loses her grip and lets the bread slide off the fork into the pot, she must turn to the man on her right and give him a kiss. She loses, he wins! If a man loses his bread when Fondue-ing in a restaurant, it's up to him to buy the next round of drinks. At home, he consoles himself by kissing his hostess!

One last Christmas scene

The tree is down and packed away. The outside lights were quickly disseminated while the weather tried to reach 50 degrees this weekend. And my heart is heavy thinking about the anniversary of my Dad's funeral.

We took our Christmas tree down on January 2nd. The day my Dad died. Audrey even pointed that fact out and dubbed Sunday the "saddest day ever." Yeah honey, it was. However, we got through it by going to church, lighting two candles (one for Mom, one for Dad) and just living our lives as Dad would want. We even took the girls to a Red Wings game! I never put the two dates together when I took the tickets home from work several weeks ago.

So, when I came across this picture that Vivian had drawn earlier in December, I felt compelled to post it. This Christmas scene was a recurring theme in all of her artwork leading up to the holidays. The fireplace with stockings and candles . . . the Christmas tree in the center with loads of gifts . . . all of it the same every time.

We're back at school and work today. It's January 3rd.

I wonder what Vivian will be drawing today.

Having fairies is hard work

for me.

Not only does Audrey want proof of their existence (resulting in a treat for her) on a daily basis, she now wants the fairies to turn HER into a fairy. This is her second request.

But she's only trying to spare their feelings . . .

We love our fairies

Santa brought the girls a Fairy Door for Christmas.

The whole family is having fun with this fairy door, but no one enjoys it more than Audrey. She writes notes to the fairies and they write back to her (on their special tiny fairy typewriter . . . who knew?)

The girls have received pins, jewelry, candy, stickers and even tiny ballet slippers from the fairies.

What I like best is that the fairies that have taken up residence in our home just happen to be neat freaks. Audrey begged them to bring her some pixie dust but they commented that her bedroom was just too messy. She cleaned up her room and Voila! pixie dust appeared on their doorstep this morning!

Everybody wins!

All is a blur

The holidays are zipping by and I want to get a few pics posted of Halloween before the snow flies.

Oops. I think I'm already too late for that deadline.

Anyway, as usual, a gathering was held at 201 N. Wallace on October 31st to celebrate the tricking and treating for all the little ones. We were blessed with pretty nice weather and a wonderful backdrop of yellow leaves in our backyard for some photo opps.

The gang hangs out on the play structure waiting for "go" time!

BFFs!!

Parents trying to get a group shot!

What a mess.

Getting ready to hit the streets.

Ursula stops by!

and then there were none

Due to city budget cuts this year, Curt and I were forced (er . . . had the privilege) to BAG all of our leaves instead of merely raking them to the curb like we've done since the day I moved into our house. [And it was quite literally, the day I moved in. I purchased the house in October of 1992.]

Please don't mention the Ypsilanti City Manager's name to Curt in casual conversation. That is, unless you enjoy seeing the veins popping out of his head.

All total, we filled 80 lawn bags full of leaves. EIGHTY. The pic below only shows 62. But the pic below that shows how many more leaves we still had to go.

And I won't mention that the city did not supply us with any bags and that I had to go to three different stores one afternoon to find some.

I just kept thinking . . . "gee, this is good exercise!"

And then there were none (finally).

The Bridge is Mine

Audrey has been displaying a very creative flair lately -- both in her dramatic abilities and in her writing.

The drama, I could do without.

She has recently concocted a series of "illnesses" that get more and more alarming with each incident. This is all in an effort to yank me out of work so that I can take her home and thereby get her out of school early.

I bought it the first two times. I mean . . . what else are you gonna' do when the school secretary calls and tells you that your daughter is sick and wants to go home? However, by the third phone call in as many weeks from the school office, I was done. I don't even remember what the first two illnesses were but the third call was about her "arm hurting." There was no accident or anything . . . her arm just started hurting. Oh geesh. Thank goodness the school nurse wasn't buying it either and Audrey stayed in school that day.

The very next day, we got a call that her hips were hurting.

Seriously??

At least she is venting her creativity through music and dance in a much more positive way. Not only is she heavily involved in her tap and ballet classes on the weekends, she has also taken to music-writing like her Dad.

She recently composed this beautiful song. I hope to get a video of her singing this song and will post it soon.

She has plans for many more songs. She commented that she wants to make a "CD of 29 songs." That is -- if her injuries don't get in her way.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy

Audrey found this card when we were shopping one day and just HAD to get it for Curt. She hid it in her room for weeks until Father's Day came around.

She also added her own embellishments on the front.

www.7Audrey.com

Audrey is a big fan of the show iCarly. The show revolves around a girl who has her own website called icarly.com. Actually, Audrey is a big fan of all things beginning with www.

She has been inspired by iCarly and the internet world in general to create her own website. Her imagination has been running wild with great ideas for this website. I'm pretty excited by it myself!

While I was on my business trip last week, Audrey and Curt discussed this website idea of hers. To make sure that Curt would not forget that discussion, she posted this note on the bathroom mirror.


Translation:

"At work today, make a website called www.7Audrey.com. Get a computer and a camera."

She'll soon be way ahead of me and my piddly-ass little blog.

Two days and counting

I haven't had much to say in recent days. Mostly because our family has been stricken this past week with a stomach virus of some sort.

It all started very innocently with Audrey telling us last Tuesday morning that her stomach hurt. I walked a very fine line of not believing her tale AT ALL to making the decision to stay home and keep a very close eye on her.

Whew. Glad I made the right choice.

By mid-afternoon, she was spending a lot of time in the bathroom. And then . . . oddly enough, my own stomach started feeling kind of crappy (and I mean that literally). So . . . two down now.

Audrey went back to school the next day but I stayed home yet another day.

On Friday morning, poor Vivian couldn't even lift her head at the breakfast table. Something was definitely not right in her world. She's NEVER one to complain about illness so she's not easy to diagnose . . . but this sign was very clear. Curt decided to take his turn at home with a kid so he stayed home while I went to work. That might not have been a wise choice. By Friday night, he too, had been hit. Bleh.

About this time last year, Curt and I were getting ready to take off for our first vacation in YEARS when we all came down with this very same thing.

I guess February is not our month!

We're still not 100% but we've all been at our respective desks/playgrounds for two days now. Now if I can just get Audrey to stop trying to wheezle her way out of school. She thinks saying her "stomach hurts" is automatic grounds for a day at home.

Like a little prayer . . .

Audrey is home sick today (and consequently, so am I. Although not sick --- yet. I AM having what could be psychosomatic symptoms.)

As a result of being home all day, she has been watching a lot of TV. A LOT of it.

She just saw this commercial on TV and now she wants one. She even went so far as to pause the TV while the 800 number was on the screen. She handed me a post-it and a pen and told me to write it down and call the number.

Perhaps it's something to consider for her Easter basket this year. Or perhaps I can distract her with the homemade popsicles she begged me to make.

Christmas Birthday party

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I'm in the holiday spirit so early this year!

I'm not sure what's bringing it on . . . except that perhaps I've actually had some downtime to enjoy my family and friends lately. It gets me all mushy and stuff. The snow on the ground helps, too.

[Spoiler alert for Curt] I recently purchased monogrammed Christmas stockings that I found in an INCREDIBLE on-line sale at TheCompanyStore. I bought them in October! Poor Vivian just couldn't go another year with the mis-matched pink, baby-themed holiday stocking. Anyway, they're tucked in a box under my bed. I've even started making lists of things that I want to buy the girls and I'm thinking about (gasp!) actually doing some on-line shopping!!

And then today BAM! out comes the new Holiday Guide from one of my favorite blogs. Now I don't have to spend hours on the web trying to find unique gifts . . . they've done all of the work for me.

They'll do the work for you, too . . . since I'm sharing this link with all of you, my beautiful friends.

And Curt, if you're still reading, how 'bout picking up the cool gift from the Holiday Guide: The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own and buying me like 90 or so of them?

Love you. [wink]

The Song That Goes Like This . . .

Curt and I co-produced and co-hosted a fundraiser event for the Ann Arbor Civic Theater last week. We had a ton of fun putting it together and even more fun at the event itself. I was walking on a cloud for days afterwards.

The event was a singing competition between 10 men and 10 women called the Civic Open -- there were two top winners in each category -- so four winners in total. We had some fantastic judges (who became even more fantastic over their manhattens and martinis). Actually, the entire crowd was fired up all over the place. A bunch of us closed the club and continued the festivities at a friend's house.

SO much fun! Too bad it was a Wednesday night.

In addition to the competitors, Curt and I sang a duet - "The Song That Goes Like This" from Spamalot.

The girls watched us practice the number a few times (well, perhaps more than a few times) and somehow during our final dress (which literally took place in our dining room the night before the event) they decided to get into the act themselves.

Here are two versions of the song. The first one shows Audrey stepping in for my part of the duet. You'll see at the end of the video that Viv wants a turn. So she got one in the second video. Although Audrey couldn't stop correcting her in the background.

Too cute!

Audrey's video

Vivian's video

The family that sings together, stays together!

Can I get a Do Over?

I'm having one of those days. Nothing earth-shattering. Everyone is healthy, we've got our jobs, cars and lots of abundances but I'm . . . in a word . . . melancholy.

It just so happens that it's September 11th. Could that have anything to do with it?

Audrey told me yesterday that she had to wear red, white and blue to school today because there was a "war" on this day. That brought on a discussion about the actual events and it shocked me that I had never actually discussed it with her and there I was telling her about it. She was born in 2002. To her, Sept. 11th will always be what it is today. There was no "before."

There are so many times I wish I had a "Do Over" or "Rewind" button. Oh . . . how cool that would be. Sometimes, I just need it for a few minutes . . . Let me take back what I just said . . . And sometimes longer than that.

If I had the opportunity, just how far back would I rewind to make things right again? A year or two or seven?

Of course, it wouldn't do me any good to rewind if I couldn't take the knowledge I have with me today back there. Without knowing what I know now, I would probably make the same damn mistakes and follow the same damn path.

So . . . having said that, I guess there's no need to look back, is there? I'm smarter and wiser today because of where I've been. Perhaps these are just growing pains I'm feeling today then. Awww . . . that makes me think of my mom. Every ache or pain was explained away by growing pains. What a mysterious thing they are!

Yeah, well . . . they can go away now. I was never a fan.

I have lots of things to be thankful and happy about. And just to remind myself, here are just a few highlights:

• Audrey went into school all by herself today. I've been driving her there all week and today was the first day that she confidently didn't need me to hold her hand all the way down the hall.


• Vivian sings "Hit the Road, Jack" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" out of the blue sometimes. She misuses words all of the time in a funny way. This morning, she needed help putting her socks on (after trying to do it "by myself"). She then said, "Mommy, can you do this yourself?"


• Curt is holding down the fort while I'm at rehearsals every night (man . . . more on that later). I come home to a clean kitchen and clean kids and a husband who's happy to see me.


• I have loads of friends that I miss seeing (also because of said rehearsals and busy weekends). I haven't seen them . . . but hey, I have friends!


• I love my family and extended family.

Okay . . . I'm cool now. Thanks for listening.

Puzzles make me sleepy

Curt was home with the girls this afternoon. There's no school or daycare this week so we're playing tag team. They spent the morning with Mommy while Curt worked and the afternoon with Daddy while I worked.

My morning with them consisted of breakfast, Disney Channel, a trip to Costco, lunch, playing on the playset and some popcorn (not necessarily in that order). I heard that their afternoon centered around frisbee, basketball and hanging out in the neighbor's yard.

That must have been enough to wear poor Vivian out.

Curt just sent me this photo.

The parts are coming in

When my husband tackles a house project, he does it full bore. Not content to do just enough to appease me (or anyone else for that matter), he goes above and beyond. He rises to his own standards - which appear to be pretty high. Higher than mine, anyway. Come to think of it, he's like that with most projects that he puts his mind to. He definitely washes dishes better than I do. He uses so much more soap. And he folds laundry better than anyone I've ever seen. I just don't have the patience for all of that precision. Now, if I can just get him to pick up his dirty clothes off the floor or put his shoes away.

Anyway, back to his projects . . . I'll never forget how meticulously he placed the ceramic tiles on the floor of our back foyer. He used those little spacers and everything. The lines in that floor are perfect! You would swear that we hired a professional to do that floor . . . and yet, this is the first time Curt ever tackled ceramic tiles. [I won't talk about that little incident with the grout and the muriatic acid, honey.]

And when he mows the lawn, he doesn't just mow the lawn. He mows, trims, weed wacks and edges the lawn. Yes, he edges.

But because he takes such great care with his projects, sometimes it takes all of his energy to gear up for doing them. He's his own worst enemy.

So, it should come as no surprise that when he finally decided, "yes, our children would love a swing set in our backyard," that he chooses to build the biggest, bad-ass play structure the neighborhood has ever seen.

I started my search for a simple swing set a few years ago when we just had Audrey. I looked at garage sales and Craig's list and even found a relatively inexpensive aluminum set at ToysRUs that I was perfectly happy with. For some reason, Curt was resistant to "mussing up" the yard with a swing set.

But this new creation of his sounds like it's going to take over the yard as far as I'm concerned. But I'm totally geeked about it! The slide alone is a Pièce de résistance measuring in at 7 ft! This Turbo Tube can hold up to 250 pounds!

The parts have been ordered so I know he means business. And they're starting to arrive at the house. Oh joy!!

I can already envision a few of our intoxicated (adult) friends sitting up 7 ft high on the platform at our parties this summer.