Short, simple and to the point: Vanilla and chocolate ice-cream topped with chocolate sauce, brandy, chopped pecans, and chipotle powder…delicious!

Wow! I have been feeling rather overwhelmed at designing a website and have had difficulty deciding where to begin my quest for knowledge. My mind is finally envisioning how it will look – I now have to figure out how to get it out of my head and online. In the meantime I have been checking out other blogs (not only food ones) to see what I like, how easy they are to maneuver, and what I don’t like…It is going to be a longer process than I realized, but I know the final result will be well worth the effort. And I have stumbled upon some fabulous websites – “Livefire” being my favorite so far!

Stay tuned…I’m going as fast as I can (but remember I support the slow-food movement, so ‘fast’ is all in the eye of the beholder!!)

I recently read that one of the top five New Year’s resolutions is to blog/start a website, so I suppose I am one of many thousands of newbies out here in cyberworld trying to make a go of my new passion. I have been giving a lot of thought to what I want to do with my website – design, content, etc. I knew there were tons of foodie websites floating around before I set out on this journey, but I did not realize how many truly *fabulous* sites there are. I am feeling quite a bit humbled at my meager attempts to record my food adventures, but I keep reminding myself that everyone started somewhere. Perhaps some waited until they had laid out a precise plan…I, on the other hand, am flying by the seat of my pants (or would that be apron?) and am letting my blog take me where it will. I believe whatever plan is out there for me, my blog and my website will unveil itself when the time is right. So if you are out there paying attention – and I suspect you are *not* – keep up the faith! Evolution may prove to be a slow process, but progress is coming!!!

Today my son returned to college – amid a lot of drama! Cleveland Airport had a power outage and all flights were cancelled…we had to re-route him through Pittsburg and arrange a car service to take him the remainder of the way to school. But it appears all is back on track and taken care of. The visit seemed so short! I know he is happy to get back to his independence and friends and snow, but he will be missed. I prepared one of his favorite meals last night: Beef Short Ribs braised in porter and finished with a maple-horseradish glaze. It is a recipe from Molly Steven’s ‘Braising’ cookbook. As usual, it turned out delicious! I served creamy mashed potatoes on the side and left it at that…no healthy green vegetables to take away from all that guilty pleasure! 🙂 For the final send-off I served homemade pancakes with maple syrup and sausage for breakfast. He may not miss us, but I bet he will miss the good food!

Tonight we will be eating leftovers. There are tidbits from several meals stored in the fridge, so this will be more of a ‘clean-out-the-fridge’ night. It’s a wonderful way to reward myself after a week of heavy cooking!

Update: the college boy has safely arrived!!

Tonight I am preparing a birthday dinner for my husband….whose birthday was in December. Yes, I am a little behind the times, but in my defense he was traveling during his birthday, and we left town a few short days after he returned (meeting other pre-planned obligations during the time he was home). So rather than rush to have a birthday dinner at the appropriate time, I suggested we hold off and have one when we returned from our holiday travels. And this brings us to today…

First of all, it is frigid here in TX, perhaps the coldest I have seen it here in my 19+ years. I rather enjoy this weather as it results in a wood fire, sending the aroma of mesquite wafting throughout the house. It’s rather festive if I do say so myself! Here I sit, blogging away, in front of this hypnotic wood fire while drinking my Manhattan (a must if you are sitting by a cozy hearth)…we have finished the pre-meal appetizers, consisting of a smoked trout spread on endive leaves with a tropical salsa on the side. Oh, yes, and a cheese and cracker platter. I have prepped for dinner, so I can sit for a time before I commence cooking the birthday meal.

For the main meal I am preparing linguine tossed with seared scallops and crabmeat. I will mix in sauteed mushrooms and a creamy white wine sauce to finish. With dinner I am serving a salad of arugula, sliced apple, red onion and dried cherries. This will have a mustard vinegrette folded into it, topped with goat cheese. I have some breads from Thanksgiving which were saved in the freezer. I thawed them and will re-heat them to serve with the pasta. And to top it all off, I have a lovely champagne to pair nicely with all of it.

So here’s to birthdays, whether celebrated on time or a bit delayed!! Cheers!!!