My fan-tabulous husband/weekend

I feel the need to preface the story with a little known fact about me. Something you wouldn't know by looking at me. I am a total hotel snob. Now that's not to say I won't stay at a regular, run of the mill hotel, but I much prefer a fancy schmancy place. I mean, I would give ANYTHING to be the next Samantha Brown. (I used to get up hours early to watch Great Hotels) Remember that Vegas trip I told you Jon planned for us? Well someone is thoroughly embarrassed to admit she threw a giant hissy fit when she found out they would be staying at the Sahara causing someone else to change the reservations. Like all my negative traits I blame my parents. When I was little we lived close enough to Disney World to go for a daytrip. We moved away when I was five, but continued trips to Disney on a yearly basis. The first time we went we stayed at Wally's World. It was a dump. Something you'd see in a National Lampoon Vacation movie. We learned our lesson. From then on, we stayed at amazing Disney properties and I was hooked.

Where were they going without ever knowing the way?
We left on Friday around 5-ish. Jon still wouldn't tell me where we were going. Bastard. (I really need to stop doing that - he doesn't deserve it...from now on I will only thing positive thoughts about my sweet and caring husband.....until he does something stupid). We headed south. I let out a deep sigh of relief as we left Orange County. As he exited in Oceanside, my stomach sunk (hey, its not that bad, maybe his friend in San Diego told him about some great Oceanside place). Then he started pulling into the Travel Lodge...the one beside the freeway (It's okay, we're not rich and he didn't have a lot of time, he wanted me to get away, which is a sweet thought...he's sweet, this will be okay) At the last minute he veered away with a "Ha Ha, we're not staying here." And back to the freeway we meant. He got off again in La Jolla. (Woot Woot, I LOVE La Jolla. Wait a minute, why did he get off at La Jolla Village Drive? All the good hotels are by the beach......its okay, there's a Sheraton here, it'll have to do. Wait a minute, why is he turning right? All the hotels are to the left...is he taking the long way to the beach? Tricky. Wait a minute, why are we turning into a supermarket parking lot? There's no place to stay here.) Turns out we were just stopping for dinner. "Um, I appreciate this" I told him, "but this is an awful long drive to go to a Chipoltle." After dinner we got back on the road and almost got on the 5 North until there was another veer, another "Ha Ha." (Seriously, this man is going to kill me) We kept heading south. When we passed downtown I was certain we were headed for Mexico. "15 miles to the border" I told him. He cryptically nodded....and then took the exit for Coronado. "Coronado? I LOVE Coronado. They have the most beautiful beach! This is going to be the best weekend ever!"
And then he did it. He pulled into the Hotel Del Coronado. "SHUT UP, we are not staying at the Hotel Del" (I miss you Jenna). The Hotel Del is only one of the most amazing hotels in the country. Established in 1888 it has housed president, movie stars, and now Jon and I! I was BEYOND excited. We checked in and then headed down to the bar for a couple drinks as we watched the people and the ocean. Then it was sleeptime.
No Sleep Till Brooklyn!
Alas for me, there would be very little sleep. At 6AM a knock on the door woke me. As Jon went to answer it, his phone went off....twice. Who calls and visits at 6AM you might ask? The hotel. Jon arranged for a wakeup call at 6 so he could be up when the balloons arrived. THE BALLOONS? This is kinda an old/inside joke. When I was a little girl, my parents would blow up balloons and sneak into my room the night before my birthday and put them all over the floor. My first year at college my mom called Jon and asked him to do the balloon thing because she couldn't. Jon didn't quite understand and hid helium balloons in his closet till I fell asleep. This year he had the hotel go out and get me balloons. At 6:15AM I got another delivery, a bottle of red wine.
At 7AM my brother called. At 8 AM a friend called. By 8:30 we had given up and Jon made us coffee. He made me open my presents and GUESS WHAT I GOT!!!! Alton Brown's latest. So cool. We spent the morning at the pool till my parents came down and met us for lunch. My mom brought a cake. What a sweetie. We had lunch and ate cake and GUESS WHAT I GOT!!!!! A new purse! (Seriously, a girl can never have too many purses) Then my parents headed home and Jon and I went back to the beach. Then the pool. Then to the room to get ready for dinner. While we were getting ready, we got another delivery from the hotel, a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.
We consumed the red wine while getting ready and headed down to dinner. Jon had made us reservations at 1500 Ocean and we both got the tasting menu which came with wine pairings. (Oh we are living it up!) I'm definitely drunk by this point.
We began with complimentary appetizers - yellowtail with avocado, and when our waiter, Chris, found out I don't eat fish, he had the chef make me a special appetizer with artichoke. Next came course 1. Jon had artichoke soup paired with a Spanish Albarino. It was perfect. Tasted JUST like artichoke dipped in drawn butter.I had salad with Sacred Hill Sauvignon Blanc. We both had the same thing for our main course, rib-eye coulettes paired with a Santa Barbara Syrah. We weren't impressed with the wine, but Jon LOVED it with the steak. The steak itself was perfect and tender and rich.For dessert Jon had a chipoltle chocolate cake with port. Jon was a little nervous it would be too spicy and not chocolatey enough, but he thought it was very chocolatey with just a zing of spice. I loved the homemade carmel ice cream which was soooooo light!I had a trio of berries, custard, and cookies with a vin d'glacier. The berries were sweet, the custard was a little too sweet for me, and Jon really enjoyed the chocolate cookies. I was REALLY drunk by this point, but thought Champagne sounded like a good idea, so we went back up to the room and drank until I passed out. I think.
This morning we got up, had fresh squeezed oj, coffee, and leftover cake before heading back to Orange County and studies. It was hard to get back to work, and its going to be even harder to go to class tomorrow!!!!

All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready To Go...

OR

Ahhhh Joni. I bet when your bags are packed you knew where you were heading. Me? Not so much. Jon's taking me away for the weekend (well tonight and tomorrow, we head home early Sunday morning so I can *gasp* study) and he won't tell me where.

I'm VERY excited and could definitely use a break and a getaway, but at the same time, Jon's not the bestest at planning. Now, my expectation bar is a little high in this area because I am the worlds most amazing trip planner. AND I love surprising people so I have taken Jon on a number of amazing surprise vacations. Once I made him get up at 4AM so he would sleep in the car the whoooooole way up to Napa. He woke up in San Francisco and was SO confused! I've planned trips for us to San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara - all surprises. And when the trips aren't surprises I'm even better! New York, Mexico, Europe, the South Pacific, I know what to do and when to do it.

Jon on the other hand, is incredibly sweet, but not so good with either surprises or trip planning. The first time he tried to "surprise" me with a trip to Vegas I guessed in about two minutes. And then there was the anniversary where he told me he was "taking me away" to Laguna Beach.....you know about 15 miles from home...........

The one exception is our engagement/my 24th birthday where he managed to surprise me with an amazing trip to Catalina Island. I mean, he REALLY outdid himself, it was one of the most perfect trips of all times. Remind me to tell you about it someday.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up that we're going anywhere amazing and he hasn't done much to allay my fears. Right now it is entirely possible that we're heading up to his parents, since he refused to tell me we weren't.

No matter what I should have some great stories on Sunday, and Jon has a non-stop chorus of "Are we there yet?" to look forward to. I hope its a long drive.

Presto, it's Pesto!

Jon looooooves pesto. Me, I like it okay, but usually its a little overpowering for me. The garlic, the basil, its a little too much. But I will do ANYTHING for Jon (and I have on more than one occasion). So I tweaked the classic pesto recipe a bit to make it, um, less assuming by adding some more and different kinds of herbs. I am totally going through a herb stage of my life right now. It makes everything seem so much fresher and I don't care what Kermit says - it IS easy being green.
I served this with penne (Presto Penne Pesto?) which I love because its little ridges catch all the sauce. Oh and the verdict on the pesto? Jon loved it, said it was some of the best pesto he's ever had. And me? Oh yeah, I ate an entire serving! (which says a lot for me). We popped open a bottle of Pillar Box (our favorite red!) and ate our pasta while watching So You Think You Can Dance. I call the evening a success.

"Presto It's Pesto" Pesto

Ingredients
1 cup packed cilantro leaves
1 cup packed curly parsley
1 cup packed mint leaves
1 cup packed basil leaves
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/6 cup toasted chopped walnuts
4 cloves garlic
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
cooked penne
grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions
1) In a medium bowl combine herbs, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, walnuts, and garlic.
2) Working in batches, place mixture in food processor and process to a rough paste.
3) With machine running slowly, add olive oil until mixture is smooth.
4) Season with salt and pepper.
5) Place hot penne in bowls and top with pesto. Garnish with grated cheese.

Tag!

Sharon tagged me for a meme.
Each player starts with seven random facts or habits about himself or herself. A tagged player then writes a blog entry with the seven things, as well as these rules. Then the player tags seven others and lists their names on his or her blog. Remember to leave a comment for your newly tagged players, letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog!


I'm superstitious so I'll play:
1) I'm dentally retarded. I didn't have any teeth until I was two years old. I didn't start losing my teeth until I was in 2nd grade. I got my 12 year molars when I was 16. BUT I have superhuman teeth. I've never had a cavity and even though I grind me teeth, my enamel is perfectly intact. Basically I think I've evolved.

2) I HATE horror movies. They scare the crap out of me. Apparently this makes it MORE fun to make me watch them. I usually end up on the floor with my head in my chair, or in my chair with my head in someone's lap. After I watch a scary movie I have to watch a cartoon.


3) I have a fear of clowns. Not pictures of clowns, or clowns on television, but real honest to goodness in your face clowns. And that is the problem. I don't like my personal space invaded and that's what clowns do. I don't want strangers that close to me. It creeps me out. If I see a clown at a fair or something I literally run the other way.

4) I LOVE music. All music. Rap, Country, Opera, Pop. And I LOVE to sing. I sing in the shower and in the car. All through school I was in musicals and choruses in which I had to audition. I even had solos. Ready for the irony? Apparently I'm a TERRIBLE singer. Both my parents and Jon tell me so. And they have no reason to lie.

5) I have Social Anxiety Disorder. Most people find this hard to believe because I'm outgoing, but I'm only outgoing with people I know, around people I don't know I'm REALLY shy. And I get super nervous. And I cling to the person I'm with. I hate going to parties! (I don't mind throwing them, cause then I know everyone there)

6) I cry at almost every movie I see. And not just "tears rolling down my cheek" kinda crying. I get hysterical. Jon almost got into a fight with a guy during "Gladiator" because I was crying so loud. I made the mistake of seeking "The Rock" with 4 of my closest guy friends. I don't think they've ever been so embarrassed. My parents still make fun of me for crying during "Honey I Shrunk the Kids"

7) I worked for a Veterinarian when I was around 13. My first day the Dr. asked me "where to tears go?" I'm no idiot, I replied "Down your face." I got to spend the rest of the day reading about tear ducts before watching a surgery which restructured a dog's tear ducts. Day 2 we performed a sex change operation on a cat with leukemia. By the end of the summer, I actually was suturing up animals all by myself. (Ummm Helllloooo can anyone say liability???????????)


I bet you all feel sooooooo much closer to me now, right?
I'm tagging Foodiebride, Amber, Kayte, MrsSisler, Cara, Liisa, and Joelen

"With all this manure, there must be ponies coming"

What I love about Barbri: I learn an entire subject in three days or less. I wish law school would have been like that. Why did they spend weeks teaching us something that can be learned in three days? Survey says: Its only easy now because we have basic understanding. Okay, I get that, but then maybe the last three days of class could have been a Barbri like review? You know, so I could actually do well on finals? I really think I am learning something because I keep getting more and more multistate questions right (either that or I am becoming the world's most luckiest guesser - either way, it increases my odds of passing)

What I hate about Barbri: At the end of each semester of law school there is great celebration because, for the most part, you NEVER have to look at that subject again. (This was especially true for me and Tax) Today was my last day of Property lecture. Am I celebrating? No. Know why? Cause I still have property questions to do, property essays to write, property notes to review. IT DOESN'T END! There is no break. My light at the end of the tunnel isn't for another 6 weeks, 6 days and 22 hours (yeah, I'm keeping track)!!!!!!!!


At least tonight So You Think You Can Dance is on. That's always a good time. It also means we're in for an easy dinner, since I want to be sitting and not cooking tonight. Usually this means a Trader Joe's meal since I heart Trader Joes.l Tonight its TJ's Pollo Asada which is incroyable (look! English, Spanish, and French all in the same sentence, and I butcher ALL of them!!!!) I love carne asada, but frankly, if it doesn't come from a carneseria its usually crap. (I'm lucky enough to live close enough to Mexico that I can be a Mexican food snob). So I pick up pollo asada instead, cause really, you can't mess up chicken. I toss it on my handy-dandy-how-did-I-ever-live-without-you-grill pan and voila! Dinner is served. I serve it with some TJ's basalmic veggies (cheater cheater pumpkin eater) and garlic/onion/cheddar mashed potatoes. Now bring on the dancers!!!!

PS - I promise to take care of my tag tomorrow, first I have to find 7 other bloggers - bah!

Oh they built the ship Titanic to sail the ocean blue, they said it was a ship that the water would never go through

Do you ever get the feeling that things aren't going exactly as planned? Like you're in a lifeboat with a leak? No matter how much you bail out the water, more keeps coming into the boat? Well folks, I'm just praying the water isn't too cold.

I am bailing out as much Barbri assignment water as I can, but more keeps filling up my boat. I hate being behind. I hate that I haven't had time to return emails, voicemails, and snail mail (I have 2 thank you cards I still haven't sent out for my graduation 2 weeks ago - heck, I don't even HAVE thank you cards!)

Yesterday was supposed to be great for me. Jon went to an Angels game which meant I had the place to myself all night. I'm not one of those girls who hates being alone. In fact, I LOVE it. I relish the rare evenings to myself when I get to eat what I want and watch what I want and do what I want. Meanwhile, Jon is never not around. He hardly ever travels for work and his hobbies all take place during daylight hours. So how did I spend my rare night on my own? Barbri assignments. I studied yesterday from 9AM to 11:30PM with a couple brief sanity breaks (walking and cooking). And I STILL didn't catch up on all the assignments. And I'm not even talking about flashcards (FLASHCARDS? FLASHCARDS? That idea went out the window last week. We don't need no steenking flashcards)

And I should mention a little secret about me. I have a touch of the OCD. Theoretically I know I don't have to do all the assignments. I know that most people don't do all the assignments. But I also am positive, even though aware that its irrational, that if I don't do all the assignments I will not pass the bar. So I am chugging along.

I think its just about time to start counting my blessings:
1) I am soooo glad I'm not in the live class. First because they are all SUPER stressing each other out instead of the laid back vibe we've got going in my class. Second, because there are 515 of them and only 1 entrance/exit from both the lecture hall and the parking lot. And finally, because our current lecturer sings.....and likes group participation. I am soooooo thankful I didn't have to sing "I'm sorry Miss Jackson" in front of 514 of my peers.

2) Dinner last night was fantastic. Mostly because I only had to cook for one. Secondly, because I got to use up some leftovers. Thirdly, because it was yummy. My fridge is getting a little ridiculous because its both bare and filled with leftovers. I had leftover rice, leftover seasoned ground turkey, and leftover red bell peppers so I did what any good cook would do - I made stuffed peppers! Sometimes I'm so brilliant I scare myself.

3) I think I might be able to get caught up tonight......cross your fingers! I only have to do 34 questions and read an outline. (BWAH HA HA HAHA HA. I crack myself up)

4) Jon's gone 3 days next week, which might give me the extra time I need to get done what I need to get done.

Oh yeah, I'm REAL zen now. Back to work!!!

Stuffed Pepper for One
Ingredients
1 red bell pepper, top cut off and cored
EVOO
1/4 cup diced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup cooked ground turkey (previously seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, and chipolte chili powder)
1/2 cup cooked white rice (I actually used rice which was mixed with nutmeg, celery, and chopped pecans)
1/4 cup marinara sauce
shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350. Spray baking sheet with PAM and then place bell pepper on sheet, spray pepper with PAM too
2) Heat EVOO over medium heat and add onions. Cook till translucent. Add garlic.
3) Add turkey, rice, and marinara and cook until heated through.
4) Stir in cheese and place mixture in bell pepper.
5) Cook for 30 minutes.

Lets name our first son Mister!

I'm not quite sure what happens to me when I lay down in bed, but as soon as the lights go out I feel an irresitable urge to talk. I think its either too many, or not enough, sleepovers as a kid. Honestly, I get giggly and have been shushed on more than one occasion. Last night I .wanted to talk about stupid celebrity baby names. This quickly degenerated into REALLY bad names for our own future unborn children (poor, poor, future unborn children. They don't know WHAT they're getting themselves into) We vetoed plenty of perfectly good names like "Wind" and "Cloud" before settling ourselves into professions. After considering names like "Doctor" and "Judge" we decided on "Mister" cause how cool would that be? I just keep thinking of them paging him over the loudspeaker "Would Mr. Mister ____ please report to the waiting room?" AWSOME. Good thing we still have a few more years before we have to worry about that kind of stuff.

Yesterday was my day off from studying and I made the most out of it. I kinda cheated a little and did some studying in the evening (Old habits die hard). We started out with brunch at Five Crowns. Five Crowns is one of my parents favorite restaurants. Its a Lawry's restaurant, which means they are known for their steaks. In fact, Jon and I usually get the prime rib when we go for dinner. This was our first time for brunch though, and it definitely was worth it. It's a 2-course meal, but Jon and I both started out with the same course - Strawberries and cream. Hey, who can say no to a ripe strawberry? From there on though we took two decidedly different courses. Jon got the prime rib hash. It was really good, but I'm not a meat for breakfast girl. No bacon, no sausage, and probably not prime rib. Jon was happy though, he described it as "prime rib meets french onion soup meets potatoes." Ummmmm okay....... On the other hand, I had one of my favorite combinations - eggs and spinach! I had the eggs Florentine which was Yorkshire pudding stuffed with spinach and topped with two poached eggs. It was great!

AND it left us full enough to continue on with the rest of our exciting day. Hold on to your seats kids cause we're going to Roger's Gardens. In all honesty, Roger's Gardens is just a gigantic nursery, but there's something soooo cool about it because it really is so large. There are multiple rooms full of orchids, giant fronds, a rose garden, and so on. They pipe relaxing music throughout the whole place and you really get a great sense of calm as you wander amid plants, flowers, cacti, and birds. Jon caught this little guy which is the first bluebird he's ever seen. And we picked up a little souvenir - a basil plant for me. I go through so much basil, I'm really excited to have my own plant to use! Especially cause I'm making pesto later this week.

We then went to see Shrek III with my folks. My mom has never seen a single Shrek movie, its very much not her thing. In fact, one of the things I think she loves most about me is that I go see these movies with my dad so she doesn't have to. I saw the previous two movies with my dad, so of course I HAD to see the third with him too. Mom tagged along because she wanted to see me. Yes people, I am THAT important that people will go see movies they don't want to see just to have the opportunity to sit next to me. I liked the movie, the baby Shreks are adorable. Dad loved the movie, thought it was the best one yet. Mom thought the wicked step sister was hysterical. And Jon? Jon turned to me after the movie and asked "Did I like the first two movies?" If you have to ask..........

Then it was back home for some good old fashioned Barbri. Yeah, even on my days off that big red book haunts my dreams. We'll try again for a day off this weekend and hope I'm a little more successful!

These Are Then People in Your Neighborhood

I thought it might be fun for y'all if I introduce you to the cast of characters who share my study space with me. Apparently no one warned me about the animal magnetism I seem to possess with the weirdos, although from some of my past friendships I should have been tipped off. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how they find me, but find me they do.

First, there's the creepy old man who mutters things under his breath. Things like "I'm going to kill you" or "I hope you all die." Yeah, I'd worry more if he wasn't being chaperoned by a group of mentally ill elderly people and one custodian. Awww crap, maybe that's NOT a good thing.

Then there's the woman who believes the library is her office. She comes in and starts making calls on her cell phone "setting up appointments." (I should point out that as soon as you enter the library there is a sign that says cell phones are forbidden and use of them will result in the revocation of your library privileges) Little Miss "I do what I wanna" makes numerous calls on her phone before her clients start showing up. One after another after another. This goes on for several hours and she conferences with them at the table beside mine.


The computer section of the library is run by a little old man who seems to know diddly about computers. He's constantly getting in trouble with the patrons and the library staff because he doesn't know how to work the machines. He likes to come by and chat with me about the temperature of the library. (Why yes, I AM wearing a sweatshirt, gosh you're observant!)


There's also OCD Man. Now 1) I don't know that he really has OCD and 2) I am in no way making fun of people with OCD, but this guy is Strange (notice the capital S). He arrives at the library with one of those gigantic backpacks you use when backpacking across third world countries. Then he proceeds to unpack it. First comes a garbage bag which he places over his chair. Then comes another garbage bag which is wrapped around a mysterious giant box. The come multiple plastic bags, each housing various computer/stationary accoutrement. He unpacks the giant box to reveal, gasp, a laptop computer. He keeps his laptop computer in a giant cardboard box in a garbage bag. And this routine happens every day.

And because apparently the library is THE PLACE for little old men with nothing better to do, I am also well acquainted with Mr. Nosey. Mr. Nosey wants to know what you're doing. Why you're doing it, and whether you are a student or a teacher. I don't really know why that matters, but it apparently of great importance to Mr. Nosey.

And lest you think I'm the only one at the library actually doing any work, I should introduce you to Mr. PMBR. He walks around carrying his PMBR book and looking for people who have Barbri books. Mr. PMBR is NOT taking Barbri and he would like to engage you for hours discussing its pros and cons. In fact, feel those eyes boring into the back of your head? That's Mr. PMBR now since he seems to come around to chat every 15 minutes. Now, I'm no expert on the California bar, but I do believe that you might do better if you spend your library time actually, I dunno, studying?

I'm combining the last two because they're not individuals, they're groups. The first group are the people on cell phones. The second group are the hordes of teenagers who use the library as a place to hang out with their friends. Now, honestly, I totally remember when libraries were places where you had to be as quiet as humanly possible or some shrewlike woman with a tight bun and impossibly long nose would be over to "SHUSH" you. Apparently that is no longer the case. First of all, I am completely against cell phones in libraries, but if you MUST use one, maybe try using your library voice? I mean, cell phones were invented so you didn't have to yell across state lines to talk to someone. These people are not only using normal voice, but they're talking louder than normal. On the phone. In a LIBRARY! And apparently, even though there are signs, no one bothers to enforce them. (Why have rules if you don't have to follow them? Good thing I'm going to be a lawyer) And the kids. THE KIDS! What is ironic is that there is a coffee shop across the street from the library, but apparently delusional parents think that if they drop their kids off at the library with 10 of their closest friends they'll get homework done (Could you hear me snort over the internet? That's SO embarrassing). I know all about who's asking who to prom, Sally's new puppy, how we're not talking to Sam, how this girl won't stop texting David. I have yet to see ANYONE doing anything that resembles homework.

In addition to the library crazies, Jon and I have added another set to our neighborhood. We went out to dinner with Liz and Bill last night. It was our first date. I was nervous. I wanted to make a good impression. I got more nervous when Jon started drinking, not because he's an alcoholic, but because he doesn't drink very manly drinks. Now don't get me wrong - he loves his scotch, but on a regular basis, he tends to veer more towards, well, this:Nevertheless, I think we made a good impression. We went to Dave and Busters which guarantees a good time because even if you hate the people you're with there's tons of other distractions. Luckily we we didn't hate the people we were with, and we were all distracted by the same thing - Jon's girly drinks. We also played mad rounds of skeeball. Thank heavens they like skeeball, that's a sure sign you're good people. Welcome to the neighborhood Liz and Bill!

Cream Cheese Frosting, Take 2

"Aha!" you are probably wondering, "What happened to Take 1?" Well my friends, I regret to inform you that in an epic battle between Kate and Cream Cheese Frosting, Round 1 went unquestionably to the frosting.

Perhaps I should start the story at the beginning? (I heard its a very good place to start) I met "Niane"* through the online dating service known as theknot.com. This used to be a great place to meet people, although, I can no longer recommend it since last year there was a bloodless coup and the current dictatorship is definitely hostile. But back to the story. I met Niane and we instantly had a connection. Birds sang and bells rang. It started out innocently enough, weekends at the gym, happy hours, but soon enough the relationship had developed into a full blown friendship. Like any good relationship Niane and I primarily converse through the magic of email. I highly recommend this form of relationship since it avoids that icky interpersonal contact. We'll fast forward a little bit. Yesterday was Niane's birthday. She's ancient and I was worried she may not survive another year without her hip breaking so we wanted to make it especially nice for her. For me, that means "make a cake." Niane's favorite cakes? Cheesecake, Carrot Cake, and Red Velvet cupcakes from Sprinkles. Noticing the common denominator? Cream Cheese. Niane also loves chocolate. So I figured I would make a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. The chocolate cake part I had down pat. I have my favorite, amazing recipe. But cream cheese frosting? Never made it before. (Hmmm this sounds like we're coming to the good part!)

After looking at several recipes I decided it would be easy enough. It appeared to be butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk. I could do this.
Attempt 1, or why Kate is a cooker and not a baker
- I looked at some recipes to determine amounts, all the recipes made some reference to "as much milk as necessary to achieve desired consistency." That should have been my first hint. I also probably should have read the instructions first. I put all the ingredients in my pretty kitchenaid and thought "I'll just add the milk now" before turning her on. I estimated I would need about half a cup. THIS WAS A MISTAKE. First, because all the milk flew up and out of the bowl as soon as I turned it on. Now I'm covered in milk. Second, because half a cup of milk is faaaaaarrrr to much milk. I am now the proud owner of cream cheese cream. (Stay tuned for later this week when I will try to use said cream over some chocolate-soufflé type dessert)

Attempt 2, Success!
- I went and picked up more cream cheese and more sugar and tried again. This time I creamed the cream cheese and milk before adding the sugar and vanilla and then, and only then, did I add a smidge of milk, about 2 teaspoons. And voila. Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting.


Niane's birthday was a huge success, good food, great company, and of course the cake was excellent. I really loved the combination of the chocolate with the cream cheese frosting - it might be my new favorite combination!

Niane's Cake
Cake:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 eggs
1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup cold coffee
2 tsp vanilla
12 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 13 x 9" pan.
2. Sift together first 5 ingredients.
3. In separate bowl combine eggs, milk, coffee, and vanilla.
4. In third bowl beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat 1/3 dry ingredients into butter mixture, then beat in 1/3 of egg mixture. Repeat twice.
5. Pour into pan. Bake 28-32 minutes. Remove from pan, let cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients
8oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 box (4 cups) confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk

Directions
1. Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth
2. Add sugar and vanilla
3. Add milk "as necessary to achieve desired consistency"

*All names have been changed to protect the innocent

Vegan-omics

There's this amazing vegan restaurant in San Diego that I became addicted to in law school. Kung Food. They had the best wraps and fresh juices.


Even now that I'm miles away and the restaurant has been shut down by greedy corporate types, I still have cravings.....and when I do I have to make tofu burritos. Once again, my good natured husband who eats just about anything (but tomatoes) humors my indulgences. (Of course, he's a Kung Food fan too, so that helps). I had left over tofu from dinner earlier this week, so tonight when I got home and wanted something quick and easy tofu burritos sounded JUST right.

Tofu Burrito
Ingredients
2 flour tortillas
salsa
1/4 cup chopped red onions
1/2 cup brown rice cooked with cumin and chipoltle chili pepper
lightly fried firm tofu, cut into strips
cheddar cheese
1 bell pepper cut into strips and grilled

Directions
Divide ingredients between the tortillas and roll. Told you it was quick and easy.

In other news, we are now thankfully done with Con Law review. And yes, it was taught by Cherminsky, which only goes to show he did not get better with age. AND it might be wise for Barbri to invest in new lecturers since it appears he was the lecturer 100 years ago when Sharon took Barbri. I also am getting more and more confident in my abilities since these were the comments I overheard today in class:
1) I don't understand it - I haven't gotten a single multiple choice question right! (WOAH, really? Cause if you completely guessed you have a 1/4 chance for each question.......unless you're trying to get them all wrong - which isn't the point of this test.)
2) I'm soooooo far behind in the assignments! (note to self: we've now been in class for 1 full week...well, minus Memorial day, so that's 5 classes.....and 8 days to do the assignments......hmmmmm maybe some of you need to stop picking your nose and start doing the work. Or not. I mean, after all, if you all fail, there's a better chance I'll pass.)
3) Once I start studying it takes me like an hour to focus! (CURSE YOU MTV!)
- so I'm thinking I might do well on this thing after all!

AND, just a side note - saw Pirates this weekend. Loved the plot, Adored the music, hated the ending (okay part of the ending). I don't need a happy ending if it doesn't fit with the movie (See My Best Friend's Wedding), but if it fits? Give me a happy ending every time! Aaaaaarrrrggghhhhh

Why hello there pointy pencil!

Barbri has taken a turn for the worse. A gouge-your-eye-out turn for the worse. Torts wasn't so bad, in fact, it was almost enjoyable. Okay - so I'm beginning to find out that its not the subject, its the lecturer. Torts was bad, but the Torts lecturer? Hysterical. Laugh your butt off funny. Told us not to quit using drugs while we were studying for the bar. But Con Law? I think they dug up a dead guy to do the lecture. The man is Ichabod-Crane stiff, with a sense of humor of a corpse. But what's worse? He thinks he's a stand up comic. So we were subject to these zingers all day long. "The state increased the taxes on dairy farms - seems like they were trying to milk some extra money from them." Yeah....a bunch of people left after the first break. They'd rather fail the bar than be subject to this guy. And we have another day of him. Oh joy.

The good news? I rock at Con Law. No really, I'm expecting a letter from Sacramento in November telling me they have never had someone score so exceptionally on the test before.

The other good news? I ran outside again today - and no sprained ankles! I've really been freaking out about running outside since I seem to attract sprains like magnets. But I did it! And it is soooo much better than the gym. I've really missed that.

Its definitely spring. Looking over my past posts there's a lot of "green" going on. Between the fresh basil pizza, mint and zucchini soup, and sage margarita I'm beginning to feel a bit like Kermit! There's nothing like fresh herbs to make you feel like spring. And everyone's heard of May flowers right? So Jon and I went to look at them. I spent half the day yesterday studying, and then Jon and I went to Sherman Gardens. Its so beautiful - they have a great rose garden, cactus garden, orchid garden, and a special section of smell good plants (I'm sure that's the technical term). They even had a koi pond with 3 foot koi!!!!

Seriously, tell me this thing isn't beautiful (whatever it is). And for those of you who are cheap like me, Mondays there are free.

Tonight for dinner I adapted an appetizer recipe and turned it into a great dinner. Jon looooooved it. Well, he would have liked it better if I hadn't served it with tomatoes (Jon hates tomatoes) but you know what? The plate needed some red, so sucks to be him. The original recipe is for chunks of chicken topped with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto, served on skewers. We eat a lot of chicken, and I'm always looking for new recipes so I thought this might work well with chicken breasts. I baked the chicken breasts, and then topped with the goat cheese and spinach leaves before wrapping it in prosciutto. I served it with fresh sliced tomatoes topped with an easy cream sauce and some hunks of bread.

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
salt
pepper
4 slices prosciutto
2 oz. goat cheese, at room temperature
6 spinach leaves, cleaned

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with foil. Lightly spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2) Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken on baking sheet. Bake chicken 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
3) Spread 1 oz goat cheese over each piece of chicken. Place 3 spinach leaves over cheese, then wrap in prosciutto.

Wasted Away Again in Margaritaville

I did it! I graduated! Got the diploma and everything! The graduation went as well as graduations can go. I mean it was long and boring, but I got the degree and that's all that matters - right?

After the graduation the real celebration began. We went to lunch at Casa de Pico. I love Casa de Pico. Ever since my first time in San Diego when Des suggested we "get margaritas." I should tell you that one of the things I love about Des is her love of chips, salsa, guac, and margaritas. We're soul mates. The original Casa de Pico moved from Old Town to Grossmont Plaza, but it is worth the drive. And we didn't have to deal with any other graduation parties.

This was my first margarita. Do you see the size of that thing? Look at the size of my head, now look at the glass, now back at my head.....are you getting the correlation? I got a medium because I was too embarrassed to order the large. Its seriously large enough for 4 people.

Now, those of you that know my from college know I can hold my liquor. Unfortunately you will all be very disappointed to learn I can no longer pass the Zach test after 2 drinks. Those of you who know me now know what I'm talking about. I am a COMPLETE lightweight/cheap date/drunk. In fact after that one margarita, I was having trouble holding a conversation with my niece. But did that stop me? No way! I'm learning Spanish and "Uno mas margarita por favor" is high on my knowledge list. But don't worry, I had a small.

Then it was off to Alexa's. Alexa's roommate from 1L year was Jamie, who apparently makes the world's greatest Sage Margaritas. What's that? Did I hear Margarita???? Yes Please! They were delicious! So I stole the recipe of course, but I think I'm going to tweak it a bit, since I'm more of a grand marnier girl than a triple sec girl. And maybe play with some other herbs. What can I say? I'm inspired. Now pass the salt and the lime!

Jamie's Sage Margaritas
Ingredients
Sage
Triple Sec
Tequila
Margarita Mix (she used premixed, but you can also make your own with a 3-2 ratio of Sweet and Sour and triple sec)

Directions
1) Muddle Sage until it is throughly muddled (basically you want all the sage goodness to come out of the leaves)
2) Add a 3-2 ratio of margarita mix to tequila
3) Add 1 oz of triple sec for as many servings as you are making

B.D.E.

My friends and I have this great habit of abbreviating things (IDK, my BFF Jill? - okay, maybe its not that bad) But we do have B._.E.'s (Best ___ Ever). This applies to B.P.E.s (Best Post Evers) B.Q.Es (Best Quote Evers) and now B.D.Es (Best Dip Ever).

This dip is truly the B.D.E., or at least the B.C.D.E. (Best Cold Dip Ever - nothing could compare with hot spinach artichoke dip, right?) I think it might be the lemon juice which cuts the creaminess....of course I could be making that up. I've been pairing it with Broccoli Rabe (brain food) but it would work equally well with other veggies, chips, or even honking pieces of bread. I think it will become my new party staple....that is, in August... when I'm allowed to party.

Best Dip Ever
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonaise
1 Tbsp fresh minced tarragon
1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
salt
pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and chill

Everything I touch turns to gold

I did it! I completed my first day of Barbri. Now, between you and me I was hella nervous - I had trouble sleeping last night. I was so afraid I'd get there and everyone would be smarter/more prepared/better looking than me. I also harbored a fear that I would be the only one there (I don't know which is scarier - being with smarter/better prepared/prettier people or being alone with myself).

BUT it was easy! They lull you into a false sense of security by cutting the class in half (we got out 2 hours early) and assigning minimal work to do the first evening. But believe me, I feel as though I'm at the peak of a mountain, and its allllll downhill from here. Jon had convinced me to take a day off a week from any sort of review, but looking at the schedule they gave me I don't see how that would be possible without putting myself horribly behind and failing the penultimate test of my brilliance. We'll see how things go.

As for the cooking half of this entry, well lets just say some of us are getting pasta in meat sauce tonight and I don't have any sort of "recipe" I use short of "Meat gets cooked first, then veggies, then tomatoes" so I will entertain you with the dinner I made Saturday night because its far more "fun."

Saturday the in-laws went to a wedding and Jon and I got our only dinner together this week for just the two of us, so I went all out. Okay, not really, but I did step it up a notch. Since we spent all day at the beach we were looking for something cool and refreshing for dinner, so I started us out with a chilled soup. Now Jon was really looking forward to this, even though he hadn't had a good experience with cold soup, and frankly I'd never had an experience at all. I mean who eats COLD soup? Isn't the point of soup to warm you up on a cold winter night? This one sounded appealing though because in addition to being cold, it included mint - perfect after a day at the beach. Kinda like a mojito, right? The soup was incredibly easy to make and we both really enjoyed it. Jon enjoyed it so much he told me I should start "cooking for emotions" but when I asked which emotion this covered he was at a loss for words. He tried again.
"No, I mean, cooking foods that make you feel a certain way. For instance, this soup is great if you want to feel refreshed." I guess that means he liked it (if you don't know by now, I am married to one of the world's greatest men who loves everything I make, well everything but lamb and pancakes, but that's a story for another time).

And now we come to the title of this post. I honestly believe it - as least as far as the kitchen is concerned. Heaven help you if you let me near a sewing machine and a pair of pinking shears. But really, I can never seem to mess up in the kitchen. To follow the pizza from Friday night, I had planned to serve homemade sorbet. I mean, how hard can it be right? Pour some stuff into the ice cream maker, plug it in, and VOILA, dessert. Alas, I am terrible naive. I read the instructions for the ice cream maker ("Have on hand 4 trays of ice cubes, a box of salt, and 2 cups of water") Aha! I thought, I can do one better, I have 6 trays of ice cubes! I pour the ingredients into the canister and plug the sucker in. )Okay, quick now, layer the ice cubes and the salt........)It didn't take long before I realized I didn't have near enough ice cubes (4 trays???? 4 trays???? Who are these people kidding? Or perhaps this is an inside joke and the ice cream maker people are giddy with delight at the fact they have snared another unsuspecting fool.) But what was a girl to do? (I'm sure this will be fine, it'll freeze!) An hour later I notice I now have no ice, merely a vessel filled with cold lemon water surrounded by equally cold regular water. I try to think quickly and decide to throw the whole thing in the freezer. It is not till much later that night I begin to get the cold sweats thinking about how in the morning I will have a gigantic cube of lemon ice and we will have to pass around the container, each taking a lick.


As the post title may indicate, this was not the case. I opened the freezer in the morning to find perfectly formed lemon sorbet. As though it was all part of my master plan. Jon and I greedily shoveled our dessert into our mouths as Jon went back for seconds. I didn't realize how greedily Jon was shoveling until the next day when I went to get it for the kids, only to discover it was over half gone and there would only be enough for the kids and one adult portion. Brother-in-law won the roe-sham-boe and got the adult portion, which he was thrilled to rub in everyone's face, cautioning sister-in-law from finishing his last spoonful.

Chilled Zucchini Mint Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 bunch mint
1- oz plain nonfat yogurt
salt and pepper

Directions:

1)Steam zucchini and mint about 15 minutes. Let cool. Discard mint.
2) Puree zucchini in food processor until smooth. Pour into large bowl.
3) Stir in yogurt. Season with salt and pepper.
4) Garnish with mint sprigs.

Lemon Sorbet
Ingredients:

2 Tspn lemon zest
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 cups water

Directions:

1) Stir all ingredients together until sugar dissolves.
2a) Recipe says: place in ice cream maker and freeze according to directions.
2b) Kate says: Place in ice cream maker for an hour - sorbet will not be frozen. Curse for a bit.
3) Remove sorbet to freezer safe container. Freeze for a few hours/overnight.

Entertaining the Troops

I am the luckiest girl in the world. Know why? As soon as I finished my last final I got the amazing task of getting our place ready for the in-laws. I know, I know you would all LOVE to trade places with me. Especially those of you who have been to our darling little apartment and been banned from the guest room area which had never been unpacked/cleaned since I moved in. Basically it had turned into a place where we threw things. Opening the door itself was quite an ordeal, and now we were going to have people sleeping there???????

I cleaned, swept, vacuumed, mopped, shined, unpacked, and killed anything living or growing that got in my way and after 2 1/2 days the place was spotless. Really, the Queen could have come over and been impressed. And that my friends was the easy part, because now that the place was presentable I had to feed the circus that was coming to town, Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law, and their two children.

Cooking for children is a little trickier than your average adult. Your average adult will nod politely and mmmm and ahhhh over food as the discretely push it to the edges of the plate, or a napkin, or a nearby ficus. Children on the other hand, have no problem telling you flat out "I don't like this." So I put on my thinking cap and came up with..........Barbeque Pork? Jon quickly jumped in to the rescue and suggested pizza. He's a genius, no really, he is. Pizza would be perfect! Kids love it and they can even help make it, and I'd make something that even the adults would enjoy and since we're kinda healthy eaters, I wanted to ensure it wasn't going to light.

This is probably a good time to introduce one of my all time favorite Kitchen Friends, my "All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook." She has never failed me, and she didn't this time either. My neice and I made the Quick Pizza Margherita with fresh pizza dough from Trader Joes. The verdict? The kids loooooved it. My neice thought it was great even though she doesn't like tomatoes, although she did say the crust was her favorite part. Her brother tried to put an entire slice in his mouth at once. Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law were equally impressed, and Jon? Well Jon helped himself to 6 slices. A success!!!!!

Cooking Light's Quick Pizza Margherita

Ingredients:

2 packages pizza dough (the recipe calls for refrigerated crusts, but I like fresh dough better)

2 tspns EVOO

1 garlic clove, halved

8 plum tomatoes, sliced thin

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tspn basalmic vinegar

1 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

salt pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Roll out dough onto 2 baking sheets covered with cooking spray. Pat each into a 13x11 inch rectangle. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove crusts from oven and brush with 1/2 tspn oil and rub with cut side of garlic. (baking the dough before topping it keeps the crust crisp)

3. Arrange tomato slices on crusts leaving 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake for 12 minutes or until cheese melts and crust is golden.

4. Combine 1 tspn oil and vinegar, stirring with a whisk. Sprinkle pizzas evenly with sliced basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle vinegar mixture evenly over pizza. Cut each pizza into 8 rectangles.

Turning Over a New Leaf

I know I know I know. I suck. I don't write, I don't call, you and mom are always worried about me. Well folks, its about to get worse. I am about to descend into Dante's Seventh Level of Hell, otherwise known as studying for the bar. For most of you this means I will become that fleeting memory of "that girl you used to know." (For some of you I'm already there). BUT you are in luck, because in order to retain my sanity, Jon has magnanimously agreed to let me keep cooking this summer. (Perhaps not so magnanimously though because he definitely benefits from the end result......)

And well, Desiree has done me a complete disservice by recommending I read Julie and Julia, which if you haven't read is stupendous. I felt an immediate connection to the main character:
1) She loves Buffy (I KNOW right?)
2) She wanted to be an actress, but that didn't pan out exactly for her
3) She cooks
4) She has the world's sweetest husband.
I mean we're practically the same person right?? Well between that and my "What's Cooking" Nest board obsession (and if you don't know about this, you're probably better off, because you probably already think I'm crazy and don't need any more evidence) I decided I really want to do a food blog. (Oh no, here comes a list again)
1) I'm going to be cooking anyway
2) Pretty much its the only contact I'll be having with the outside world so you can keep track of me and make sure I haven't gouged my eyes out with my shiny #2 pencils (which by the way I must pick up)
3) It'll be an amazing stress release for me to vent on how things are going with the bar, but also to share some of my hard work with someone other than Jon....

So stay tuned. Tomorrow I'll fill you in on all the cooking I did for the inlaws this weekend.