Exciting possibilities!

So, I have been stressing out a lot lately about the future, because since Jesse veto-ed the school in Chicago, we haven't been sure where to go. We thought maybe move to Colorado Springs for awhile (we both adore CO)... but we're going to be so broke by the time we'd be all moved that it would be horrible trying to make ends meet, and we don't know what sorts of jobs we'd be able to find etc....

Then, we looked into Florida.

 I have a great Aunt and Uncle who live not far from Orlando, and since 2005 I have wanted to work for Disney! We looked into audition dates and locations, and they actually have locations in Chicago and MI-- not too terribly far from us! We have therefore decided to apply for numerous jobs at Disney World sometime this Summer, and will both be auditioning for Character roles and dancing roles at the Theme Park-- the best part about working there? Weekly (good) pay, health/dental/vision insurance, childcare, paid vacation and sick leave, etc. Since we are thinking about starting a family sometime in the near future, all of those things are very valuable!!

And the best news..... (drumroll please!) Jesse's favorite professor had recommended that he do an accelerated PhD program at Argosy in the Twin Cities-- turns out there is a "branch" of the school in Orlando! And they actually have his program!! He has missed the deadline for applying this fall, but we both decided it would be all right to work full time at Disney (or elsewhere) for a year until he applies and is hopefully accepted (If not there are other options in the area too, just not quite as ideal for him)!!

This month (March) is going to be very stressful on both of us-- we have only each gotten a few shifts at our workplaces, and bills piling up like crazy. Plus we have a lot to do with our dance rehearsals and the play. We're hopefully going to do our taxes either tomorrow or Wednesday, so keeping our fingers crossed that we may receive the refund before April 5th rolls around (so we can make rent). In the coming months we will both be able to work a lot more, hopefully get a few additional short-term jobs, and possibly this new opportunity for Jesse will work out for him as well. Plus I am hoping to pick up two extra jobs in the summer, so moving should be simpler.

Tomorrow (or today I guess) I have consultation numero uno for my wisdom teeth-- if this place feels good, I'll prolly go with them, but I just got a glowing recommendation from a friend about another oral surgeon in the same building, so I feel like I need to check them out as well-- yay for free dental insurance from school/ my own dental insurance....I hope one of them will work out lol! In terms of appointments, I also have to set up my physical, allergy test, blood test, dental check-up, fun women's appointment (barf), and I'm looking for good orthodontists in the area to fix my front teeth sometime this spring. Any suggestions?

In addition to dance and play rehearsals, starting today I am doing as much of a work out as possible daily using my new equipment here at the apartment, and need to start stretching NOW if I have any hope of ever becoming a dancer for Disney. The hubby and I are ALSO going to start jogging/ training to run. We are hopefully entering the Irvin 5k and the Color Run this summer together! It would be great for our bodies, and be an awesome accomplishment we can celebrate as a couple :)

Based on all of this fun Florida talk, I thought I'd share a slightly different recipe:
Champagne with popsicles!!! (personally I would do it with Moscato-- the stuff in the blue bottle lol)

--Pretty simple, just put a popsicle stick side up in a wine glass, and pour champagne (or Moscato) over the top!

Enjoy! And have a great Monday :)

Will you be my Valentine?

Valentine's Day this year was by all means an extravaganza! We went all out!! Woke up in the morning to roses and a sweet note from my hubby:

That afternoon I went early to our hotel and spruced the place up:

And then we continued on to the rest of our night. We went to see the Vow at Duluth 10, had  Hors d'oeuvres at the club lounge at Sheraton, and then got dressed up for the 5 course dinner/ V-day event at our traditional special event place: Va Bene.

After that we pretty much just curled up at watched a bunch of TLC. We had breakfast in the lounge the following day, went hot tubbing, and had lunch at 301. The rest of that day we spent playing games and chatting, it was so nice when our lives have been so stressful and chaotic these past few weeks!

The rest of this week has been frustrating, busy, fun, etc... Lots of rehearsals and commitments going on at the moment! Tomorrow I work and we both have some rehearsals to do, Sunday we work and then leave town to visit some family of mine :) Next week is equally full of many appointments, duties and rehearsals.

Jesse just applied for a new job which is fantastic! I'm excited for him because it's something he can do with his degree, which I know he has been wanting for awhile now. We've done some chatting about where to go when the summer is over and our lease expires. It doesn't sound like he is too taken with Chicago anymore, so we are looking at other school possibilities or maybe just move to Colorado for awhile like we have been talking about doing for a long time now. Life will be pretty tight money-wise for awhile, but I think we both need out of the state for awhile.

Well, I suppose I should get some sleep before work tomorrow-- night all!

Recipe of the day:
Poulet au Porto
[Roast Chicken Steeped with Port Wine, Cream, and Mushrooms]
Chicken, cream, and mushrooms occur again and again, as it is one of the great combinations. This perfectly delicious recipe is not difficult, but it cannot be prepared ahead of time or the chicken will lose its fresh and juicy quality. The chicien is roasted, then carved, flamed in cognac, and allowed to steep for several minutes with cream, mushrooms, and port wine. It is the kind of idsh to do when you are entertaining a few good, food-loving friends whom you can receive in your kitchen.
VEGETABLE SUGGESTIONS
Nothing should interfere with these special flavors. It would be best to serve only potatoes sauteed in butter, page 526, or a perfectly seasoned risotto, page 532. Peas, or asparagus tips, or braised onions, page 481, could be added if you feel the necessity for more vegetables.
WINE SUGGESTIONS
Serve very good, chilled, white Burgundy such as a Meursault or Montrachet, or an excellent, chateau-bottled white Graves.
For 4 people
A 3-lb., ready-to-cook, roasting or frying chicken
Roast the chicken as described in the master recipe on page 240. Be sure not to overcook it.
1 lb. fresh mushrooms
Meanwhile, trim and wash the mushrooms. Quarter them if large, leave them whole if small.
A 2 1/2-quart enameled or stainless steel saucepan
1/4 cup water
1/2 Tb butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
Bring the water to boil in the saucepan with the butter, lemon, and salt. Toss in the mushrooms, cover, and boil slowly for 8 minutes. Pour out the cooking liquid and reserve.
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 Tb cornstarch blended with 1 Tb of the cream
Salt and pepper
Pour the cream and the cornstarch mixture into the mushrooms. Simmer for 2 minutes. Correct seasoning, and set aside.
When the chicken is done, remove it to a carving board and let it rest at room temperature while completing the sauce.
1/2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
1/3 cup medium-dry port
The mushroom cooking liquid
The mushrooms in cream
Salt and pepper
Drops of lemon juice
Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan. Stir in the shallots or onions and cook slowly for 1 minute. Add the port and the mushroom juice, and boil down rapidly, scraping up coagulated roasting juices, until liquid has reduced to about 1/4 cup. Add the mushrooms and cream and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, allowing the liquid to thicken slightly. Correct seasoning and add lemon juice to taste.
A fireproof casserole or a chafing dish
1 Tb butter
1/8 tsp salt
Smear the inside of the casserole or chafing dish with butter. Rapidly carve the chicken into serving pieces. Sprinkle lightly with salt, and arrange in the casserole or chafing dish.
1/4 cognac
Set over moderate heat or an alcohol flame until you hear the chicken begin to sizzle. Then pour the cognac over it. Avert your face, and ignite the cognac with a lighted match. Shake the casserole slowly until the flames have subsided. The pour in the mushroom mixture, tilting the casserole and basting the chicken. Cover and steep for 5 minutes without allowing the sauce to boil. Serve.
(*) Chicken may remain in its casserole over barely simmering water or in the turned-off hot oven with its door ajar, for 10 to 15 minutes, but the sooner it is served, the better it will be.


(I have been wanting to try this for awhile-- hopefully it tastes as good as it sounds!! With Julia's recipe, I think it will :)

Random thoughts on a Tuesday afternoon

So, I am finding school very frustrating this semester. I feel like I've been very, very lazy so far, and the stress is kind of getting to me. I'm also having some weird issues goin on in my noggin, so I will be getting that checked out this month when I go in for my first real appointment in ages lol! I am pretty sure though that is due to my impacted wisdom teeth (sigh). My first dentist was a jerk. AND he told me that I,like my mother, did not have roots for wisdom teeth (we think he was looking at mom's x-rays). Finally, about a year ago I was told I had them and needed to get them out. So, I now FINALLY have a consultation appointment and am FREAKING out about getting oral surgery!

Yup, this is about 1/2 of the utter, paralyzing, and crazy-irrational fear I am experiencing.

This is like the season of catching up on doctors appointments with me.... dentist check-up, "women's doctor" check-up, physical...as well as getting a vaccine, tetanus shot, blood test, and scratch test. I also am working on getting into really good shape, and eventually will be eating better food (haha). Jesse is working on putting together his grad school application for Chicago, and is working hard both at work and on the play he is in.

Speaking of the play, we going strong! Jesse got one of the lead roles, Cosmo, in "Singin' in the Rain" and I am choreographing it/ playing multiple extra roles. This is week two and already we have taught a bunch of dance, blocking is either done, or almost done, and we have our first full run through this Friday. So far, the whole thing is turning out to a be a really fun adventure. So far, I think it is my favorite musical that I have choreographed :)

We both are also involved in Attitudes Dance pieces. We are both choreographing a dance, Jesse is in his own, mine, and one other dance, and I am in his, and four other dances. Rehearsals for the musical AND dances every night equal a pretty hectic evening schedule, but it's a lot of fun so far!

In other news, it was a year ago this past weekend (Feb. 4th to be exact!) that Jesse proposed. He came home one day, sat me on the bed, handed me a heart-shaped box of chocolates, and told me to wait. A few minutes later, he appeared with a bouquet of daisies and roses and led me into the living room, also filled with flowers. He knelt down, tied a string around my finger and asked me to marry him and someday he would replace the string with the ring. After I said yes, he pulled out this gorgeous ring and said "that day is today". It was the most perfect proposal I could have asked for from the perfect man. <3

In honor of Valentine's Day coming up, here is a cute recipe I have never tried, but looks yummy!

FUDGY BROWNIE HEARTS WITH FRESH RASBERRY BUTTERCREAM

 

Yield: about 6 large (3 in. wide) or 20 small (1-1/2 in. wide) brownie heart sandwiches

Ingredients

for the brownies:
• nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, diced
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1-1/2 c. sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. flour
• powdered sugar, to sprinkle on the finished brownie hearts
for the fresh raspberry buttercream:
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 12 oz. raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3-1/2 c. powdered sugar
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 to 2 T. milk, if needed to thin out the frosting

Preparation

for the brownies:

Preheat oven to 325°.

Fold a long piece of heavy foil into a 13" wide strip and fit it inside a 9" x 13" metal baking pan, leaving foil overhang on the 2 long sides. Spray the foil with nonstick spray.

Stir the butter and chocolate in a large heavy saucepan over very low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar, and then the eggs, 1 at a time. Whisk in espresso powder, vanilla, and salt. Then sift the flour over the chocolate mixture and stir to blend well. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake brownies until slightly puffed and dry-looking and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack.

Now prepare the fresh raspberry buttercream:

Cook the raspberries in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until the raspberries are broken down into a sauce. Pour the sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds, and then pour the raspberry sauce back in the pot. Simmer until the sauce reduces to a 1/4 cup. It will be a very rich red and concentrated sauce. Set aside to cool. With a mixer, cream the butter with a paddle attachment on medium high speed about 2 minutes, until lightened in color and a bit fluffy. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, the 1/4 cup of cooled raspberry sauce, lemon juice, and salt. Mix until smooth. Add another 1-1/2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. If you want the frosting less stiff, add some milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. I did not add any milk to mine, and thought it was perfect for piping. Fit a pastry bag with a medium-large round tip (I used a Wilton #12) and fill with fresh raspberry buttercream.

Run a knife around the inside edge of the brownie pan. Use the overhanging foil as an aid and gently lift the brownies from the pan. The pan I used produces a brownie that is 1/2" thick. Be sure your cookie cutter is taller than 1/2". Press heart-shaped cookie cutters (the cookie cutters used in my photos measure 3" wide and 1-1/2" wide) firmly into the cooled brownie. Use a thin metal spatula to lift the cookie cutter filled with brownie from the foil. Gently press the brownie out of the cookie cutter. Repeat the cutting process until your brownie looks like a big piece of swiss cheese. (And I hope you're eating up some of those brownie scraps!)

With the pastry bag filled with fresh raspberry buttercream, pipe a line of frosting around the inside edge of one of the brownie hearts. Then fill in the inside of the line with frosting, too. Top with another brownie heart, very gently pressing down to make a sandwich. Repeat until all your brownie hearts are completed. To finish off, sprinkle the brownie hearts with powdered sugar. I like to fill a small hand sieve with powdered sugar and gently tap the side of the sieve to let the powdered sugar rain down.