Holiday Potluck in C/1089

Who needs a fancy work party at the Westin? We’ve got a hot potluck in the big conference room.

Everyone loves a good potluck, right? Especially when one gets awards. I didn’t go for the award this year, actually. Too much other stuff going on to spend time dreaming up the “best original dish”. But, take a look at the best original dish, prepared by Alejandro. Chicken Empanada:

MSN Empanada. Now thats team spirit.

MSN Empanada. Now that's team spirit.

I brought a pasta salad. Made with tri-color rotini, marinated artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. I forgot the olives and ditched the capers.  An easy dish that took all of 20ish minutes to make the night before. Maybe next year I’ll be up for the competition again.

Good fun was had by all.

San Diego Dinner

Yeah, so I’m kind of going backwards on the posting. Here is another meal from San Diego. Team meals are super fun for me. We stay in a hotel that has a kitchenette in each room, which is pretty crucial as we are all careful with what we are eating during a race weekend. We are a couple of blocks from a major supermarket, and we tend to go there once or twice a day. For dinner we gather in a hotel room/cottage/outdoor patio/etc. and we all bring something to the party. On the first night my hotel-mates and I made pasta salad to go along with the chicken we were barbecuing. (Sorry, no pic)

The next night was pasta night. “Jody, you’re cooking tonight” was the command from a certain rower, much to Jody’s surprise. As a Seattle firefighter she has the experience of cooking for large numbers. It was just pasta, but a lot of pasta.

via chattycha on flickr

via chattycha on flickr

At Jody’s request we went to the store bought and some supermarket-style brownies. These were extra-special because they were topped with chocolate icing. My teammates got into the spirit of this food blog I’ve been keeping and recommended that we “plate” this next one special.

via chattycha on flickr

Click here to see the lucky coxswain who got to take a bite. I suggested she replace the existing strawberry with a clean one, but she refused. Crazy girl.

Let me apologize again for the fuzzy pics. The lighting in the room was nil and I really dislike the look of the flash (see pasta pic above). I have to figure that one out. If you have tips/suggestions, please let me know.

Dinner delight

A rich treat for us tonight. The husband pulled out the dutch oven! Only good things can come from a dutch oven. Tonight he offered up beef bourguignon: tender chunks of meat; carrots, pearl onions and potatoes; a red-wine based sauce over fresh, wide, buttery pappardelle pasta. Crumbled bacon topped this dish off.

beef bourguignon via chattycha on flickr

beef bourguignon via chattycha on flickr

(the dutch oven of goodness)

Spring has (almost) sprung

It is beginning to smell like spring around here. We’ve got our rhodies beginning to bloom in the front yard, and we’ve cut some of the hyacinths that recently blossomed in our yard as well.

hyacinths via chattycha on flickr

What better dish to celebrate spring than Pasta Primavera?

pasta primavera via chattycha on flickr

The husband treated us with this light pasta dish for dinner tonight. Whole-wheat rotini tossed with olive oil, peppers, broccoli and garlic.

I had a splitting headache, from what I believe was missing my coffee/caffeine fix this morning. So I stopped by the MM for a short latte and came home with dessert, a chocolate-dipped macaroon.

chocolate dipped macaroon via chattycha on flickr

I’ll meet you anywhere you want, in our Italian restaurant

bolognese sauce via chattycha on flickr

The husband and I were watching Tyler’s Ultimate when he declared Tyler’s sauce wasn’t anything to write home about … he could do better.

And he did! Two different kinds of meats; San Marzano tomatoes; onions and red wine. Reduced to a rich, heavenly sauce. This was served over some whole wheat penne. This was last night. We had leftovers tonight. And will probably have the same tomorrow. No complaints here.

Chicken with a twist

The husband shook it up a bit tonight. He crushed garlic croutons from MM to create a breading for chicken breasts which he pounded. Pan-fried and combined with sauteed mushrooms. This was on top of a garlic-infused pasta flavored with lemon. A side salad to finish off the meal. I loved having the croutons as part of the chicken dish. A flavorful change of pace.

dinner via chattycha on flickr

salad via chattycha on flickr