Yesterday at 4:00 Mark and I had a date with our chef to taste some dishes for our wedding reception. I was good and hungry by the time I left work. Thoughts of savory beef and chicken clouded my head and made it very difficult to find parking downtown.
I can never find parking downtown. I hate it.
Mark and our wedding coordinator Rene were already there waiting for me.
I'm never late for anything. I hate it.
We talked for a little bit, then Chef came out with the food!
I planned on having Mark bring the camera so we could take pictures, but I would have felt weird doing that in front of the chef, so I "forgot" to tell Mark to bring it. Sorry!
The first dish we tried was: Slow Roasted Strip Loin Medallions prepared medium rare and served with a wild mushroom and peppercorn demi-glaze. It also had a side of Smashed Redskin Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans with Tomatoes and Shallots.
This was really good! I loved the demi-glaze and the potatoes the best. The meat was very tender and the vegetables were crisp and not rubbery.
The second dish we tasted was: Chicken Breast stuffed with Herb Goat Cheese, Oven Dried Tomatoes and Spinach served with Asiago cream sauce. It came with an Au Gratin Potato Wedge and Sauteed Asparagus.
Oh yum! I loved the stuffing in the chicken and the plate looked gorgous! I also liked the au gratin wedge and asparagus has always been a favorite of mine (stinky pee aside!). I ate all this up! My favorite for sure!
The third dish was: Sauteed Whitefish rubbed with lemon and garlic and served in a lemon butter sauce.
This was our least favorite. The fish had a "fishy" taste like maybe it wasn't fresh? Also I'm pretty sure I told Mark I wanted to try the Almond Crusted Walleye. He sent the email with our requests to Rene so maybe he wrote down the wrong one? I forgot to ask him.
We left with the idea of serving our guests a combonation plate of chicken and beef served with sauteed asparagus and smashed redskin potatoes. Rene will get us the quote sometime next week so we can see the numbers. I would be ok with just doing chicken for everyone. Yummy! I want more!
At my sisters wedding they served everyone chicken and I ate mine and everything my sister left on her plate. One of the benefits of being the maid-of-honor and sitting right next to a nervous bride!
We didn't get to taste any of the appetizers being served at our cocktail hour. I was bummed because it's likely that we wont actually make it to cocktail hour because of pictures and what-not. Oh well.
Our wedding is almost 4 months away now! I have to get my butt in gear with all the details now. I've been draggin' it for awhile.
Yoga!
Mark and I did the Yoga X dvd last night. It was a little over an hour and a half long! It was tough too! Lots of challenging poses and there were some that we couldn't do without falling over.
"Do your best. Forget the rest."
Brie
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Workout Day 3: Shoulders & Arms; Abs
Mark and I did this workout before he went to work last night.
I really like all of these workouts. They are challenging enough that I know we'll be doing them for months to come.
The Ab one was super difficult though. My stomach resembles a deflated clown balloon, so I think it'll be awhile before I can do every crunch along with the dvd.
My arms are sore and a little tight today, but it feels great to know I'm using those muscles that don't get worked too often.
I'm gonna have some mad guns to show off in my wedding dress!
In Other News...
Mark and I have our menu tasting with the caterer today at 4:00pm.
I get to leave jail early today! Yay!
We will be tasting our appetizers, entrees, and potato side dish.
I'm skipping afternoon snack today so I can be extra hungry for all the tasty food!
Happy Hump Day!
Brie
I really like all of these workouts. They are challenging enough that I know we'll be doing them for months to come.
The Ab one was super difficult though. My stomach resembles a deflated clown balloon, so I think it'll be awhile before I can do every crunch along with the dvd.
My arms are sore and a little tight today, but it feels great to know I'm using those muscles that don't get worked too often.
I'm gonna have some mad guns to show off in my wedding dress!
In Other News...
Mark and I have our menu tasting with the caterer today at 4:00pm.
I get to leave jail early today! Yay!
We will be tasting our appetizers, entrees, and potato side dish.
I'm skipping afternoon snack today so I can be extra hungry for all the tasty food!
Happy Hump Day!
Brie
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Workout Day 2: Cardio
"It's time to get rid of the gristle and gunk!"
Oh Tony you have such a way with words.
I did the cardio routine yesterday. I thought it was really great! I paced myself this time and when I couldn't stay in tempo with everybody, I just went slower.
There was just a few minutes left of the workout when Tony called out my least favorite exercise...
The Dreaded Superman Banana! Dun-Dun-Duuuuun!
This torturous exercise has me lying on my stomach with my back arched, arms raised out in front of me, and my legs raised off the floor about 4 inches.
That is the Superman part.
Then Tony yells, "Banana!", and I have to use my core muscles to flip over on to my back then raise my feet and arms up about 4 inches.
Sounds easy enough but when I'm in the Banana position I can't get my legs off the floor one millimeter! It's like they suddenly weigh 2,000 pounds!
Then Tony starts calling out the positions faster: "Superman, Banana, Superman, Banana, Superman". Anyone who walks in and sees me at this point would think I'm either having convulsions or trying to put out an imaginary fire. It's really quite humorous.
I am a bit sore today, but it's a good sore.
The diet is going well too. This has been the best week yet as far as tastiness goes.
Breakfast: Protein Shake (chocolate flavored of course)
Morning Snack: Mozzarella Cheese Stick
Lunch: Chicken Salad over Baby Spinach and a cup of Vegetable Soup
Afternoon Snack: Protein Bar (the Zone bars are really good)
Dinner: Talapia with Pesto Sauce, Green Beans, and Wild Rice
Brie
Oh Tony you have such a way with words.
I did the cardio routine yesterday. I thought it was really great! I paced myself this time and when I couldn't stay in tempo with everybody, I just went slower.
There was just a few minutes left of the workout when Tony called out my least favorite exercise...
The Dreaded Superman Banana! Dun-Dun-Duuuuun!
This torturous exercise has me lying on my stomach with my back arched, arms raised out in front of me, and my legs raised off the floor about 4 inches.
That is the Superman part.
Then Tony yells, "Banana!", and I have to use my core muscles to flip over on to my back then raise my feet and arms up about 4 inches.
Sounds easy enough but when I'm in the Banana position I can't get my legs off the floor one millimeter! It's like they suddenly weigh 2,000 pounds!
Then Tony starts calling out the positions faster: "Superman, Banana, Superman, Banana, Superman". Anyone who walks in and sees me at this point would think I'm either having convulsions or trying to put out an imaginary fire. It's really quite humorous.
I am a bit sore today, but it's a good sore.
The diet is going well too. This has been the best week yet as far as tastiness goes.
Breakfast: Protein Shake (chocolate flavored of course)
Morning Snack: Mozzarella Cheese Stick
Lunch: Chicken Salad over Baby Spinach and a cup of Vegetable Soup
Afternoon Snack: Protein Bar (the Zone bars are really good)
Dinner: Talapia with Pesto Sauce, Green Beans, and Wild Rice
Brie
Monday, February 1, 2010
Workout Day 1: Core
For Christmas this year Mark and I decided to forgo all the expensive presents and give eachother the gift of 6-pack abs and a tight butt.
We bought the P90Xworkout program, weights, resistance bands, pull-up bar, and yoga mats.
We are just now getting around to using them!
If your not familliar with P90X it's that crazy workout infomercial you see on the weekends. It was created by Tony Horton and it's 90 days of intense workout and dieting.
There are different levels to the program. I am doing P90X Lean. It focuses more on cardio and building lean muscle mass. It has less upper body exercises, which is good for me 'cause I can't do a pull-up to save my life! Mark is doing P90X Classic, 'cause that's the kinda guy he is.
My workout yesterday was Core Synergistics. It focuses on the core muscles of the stomach, back, glutes, and hamstrings. How do I know that? Because I'm sore in all those places! I had a hard time doing a few of the exercises and sometimes I could only do it once. I was tired halfway through and I breifly wanted to shut it off, but I didn't and I'm glad I made it through to the end! I know I'll look back in 90 days and think "I thought this was hard?"
Mark had 2 workouts his first day! Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X. I could hear him grunting and groaning the whole time, while I was cleaning out my bedroom closet. I also heard him laugh a few times. Tony Horton will say the most off-the-wall comments sometimes and you just have to laugh!
"Superman! Banana! Superman! Banana!"
Brie
We bought the P90Xworkout program, weights, resistance bands, pull-up bar, and yoga mats.
We are just now getting around to using them!
If your not familliar with P90X it's that crazy workout infomercial you see on the weekends. It was created by Tony Horton and it's 90 days of intense workout and dieting.
There are different levels to the program. I am doing P90X Lean. It focuses more on cardio and building lean muscle mass. It has less upper body exercises, which is good for me 'cause I can't do a pull-up to save my life! Mark is doing P90X Classic, 'cause that's the kinda guy he is.
My workout yesterday was Core Synergistics. It focuses on the core muscles of the stomach, back, glutes, and hamstrings. How do I know that? Because I'm sore in all those places! I had a hard time doing a few of the exercises and sometimes I could only do it once. I was tired halfway through and I breifly wanted to shut it off, but I didn't and I'm glad I made it through to the end! I know I'll look back in 90 days and think "I thought this was hard?"
Mark had 2 workouts his first day! Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X. I could hear him grunting and groaning the whole time, while I was cleaning out my bedroom closet. I also heard him laugh a few times. Tony Horton will say the most off-the-wall comments sometimes and you just have to laugh!
"Superman! Banana! Superman! Banana!"
Brie
The Word of the Lord
Every Sunday I will post the daily scripture that spoke to me in Mass that day. I'm a day late, but I didn't have access to a computer yesterday.
A Reading from the First Corinthians 13:4-13
Brothers and sisters:
Love is patient. Love is kind.
Love is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek it's own intrests,
it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tounges, they will cease;
if knowledge, they will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophecy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
The Word of the Lord
Love is one of God's greatest gifts to us.
He gives it freely to us as we should give it freely to Him.
And we should always remember that we are deserving of His love.
God Bless!
Brie
A Reading from the First Corinthians 13:4-13
Brothers and sisters:
Love is patient. Love is kind.
Love is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek it's own intrests,
it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tounges, they will cease;
if knowledge, they will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophecy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
The Word of the Lord
Love is one of God's greatest gifts to us.
He gives it freely to us as we should give it freely to Him.
And we should always remember that we are deserving of His love.
God Bless!
Brie
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie
First off let me apologize for this horrible picture. Mark did not take this.
He wanted me to tell you that.
What I should have done was displayed them on a nice serving dish and let Mark click away, but he was napping when I made these. And he really doesn't care for mushrooms, unless they come from a can.
What?!
It's ok. I love him still. And I get to eat these all by myself!
I got this recepie from my mostest favoritest blogger The Pioneer Woman I can't get enough of her blog! I bought her new cookbook too.
Her apple pie recipie is the reason Mark is marrying me.
Not really. I think?
That's another story for another time perhaps. Perhaps.
Here is the list of ingredients:
3 tablespoons Butter
1 package White Button Mushrooms, washed and stems removed
4 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
4 whole Green Onions, sliced (up to middle of dark green part)
Splash of White Wine (optional for you) but for me, essential!
1 wedge of Brie Cheese (any brand)
Preperation Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Melt butter in a skillet. Add mushroom caps and toss to coat in butter. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook for 1 minute. Remove mushrooms from skillet and place stemmed side up in a baking dish.
In the same skillet (without cleaning it) throw in the garlic, parsley and green onions. Sprinkle lightly with salt and splash in wine, if using. Then pour yourself a glass and relax. Stir around until wine evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Cut rind off brie wedge, then cut pieces of brie to fit each mushroom cap. Place inside, lightly pressing to anchor each piece of brie.
Top mushrooms with garlic/parsley/green onion mixture.
Place in oven for 15 minutes or until brie is melted.
Your kitchen will smell amazing!
Cool slightly before eating. This is the hardest step!
The brie gets really soft and creamy. The herb mixture adds unbelievable flavor! Give these a try this weekend! You wont be sorry!
Unless your Mark.
Enjoy sweeties!
Brie
Rebirth
Forgive me father for I have sinned.
Oh wait a minute...I'm not a Catholic yet, and technically I've done nothing wrong here except neglect the crap out of this poor unfortunate blog.
I hope this is not an indication of my future parenting skills!
I truely intend to get this thing up and running, but with a few changes. And boy does this one need changing! Pee-u!
My spell check recognizes "Pee-u" as a real word! That cracks me up!
The original intent of this blog was to delve into the expansive world of cheeses and taste, cook, and learn about them.
I got about as far as a worm on a rainy Sunday.
I made that up...do you think it will catch on?
I still want to do the cheese thing, but I'd also like to share other things I'm passionate about like:
My future husband
My Faith
Cooking
Traveling
Photography
Life in general
In that exact order. Whenever I make a list of things (which I do ALL the time) the items are always listed in exact order. This is a disclaimer to my persnickety-ness.
My spell check also recognizes my "persnickety-ness" as real.
God Bless!
Brie
Oh wait a minute...I'm not a Catholic yet, and technically I've done nothing wrong here except neglect the crap out of this poor unfortunate blog.
I hope this is not an indication of my future parenting skills!
I truely intend to get this thing up and running, but with a few changes. And boy does this one need changing! Pee-u!
My spell check recognizes "Pee-u" as a real word! That cracks me up!
The original intent of this blog was to delve into the expansive world of cheeses and taste, cook, and learn about them.
I got about as far as a worm on a rainy Sunday.
I made that up...do you think it will catch on?
I still want to do the cheese thing, but I'd also like to share other things I'm passionate about like:
My future husband
My Faith
Cooking
Traveling
Photography
Life in general
In that exact order. Whenever I make a list of things (which I do ALL the time) the items are always listed in exact order. This is a disclaimer to my persnickety-ness.
My spell check also recognizes my "persnickety-ness" as real.
God Bless!
Brie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
