Welcome Home to us: Seafood & Duck

(I'll admit, I wrote this in mid-November...)
Welcome home to us! We've been traveling and have been busy for the last few weekends. In bigger news though, I have new sister-in-law! Mr. K's brother got married last weekend during what was a miracle and sign from God when it comes to Mother Nature. If you're on the east coast, you know how much rain we were predicted to get over the weekend. Between my friend Ryan's wedding in Maryland, and our family wedding in NC, I was a bit nervous for Saturday. We set up the chairs for the outdoor ceremony on Saturday morning in the pouring rain, hoping that the clouds would clear for the 3:30 ceremony. Low and behold, the rain stopped around 11, and held off literally the rest of the day and evening, even for clean up after the reception. We couldn't believe it. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, the bride was stunning, groom grinning from ear to ear, guests dancing all night, and an awesome bubble send-off. I can't wait to see the pictures, they are bound to be nothing short of gorgeous. Congratulations John & Mandy!

Now on to our weekend at HOME.... We spent our Saturday morning at Home Depot, finally getting blinds!! Yes, we put in our order for blinds. We've been living with paper shades for about 18 months since we moved into our house. So we can't wait for those to come in and finally get installed. One step closer to feeling completely settled. A weekend home wouldn't  be complete without a trip to Home Goods, of course. We surprisingly didn't get much, but I am definitely making a trip back there soon to get my holiday fix. The store was officially taken over by Christmas stuff. It was crazy.

Let's move on to the yummy part of this post...
A tasting of seafood and duck. That pretty much sums it up.

First up: Oysters Rockefeller 
Heat oven to 375 degrees, throw oysters on cookie sheet, 3-4 minutes until they open. Pull out, shuck 'em, dress them with whatever you're feeling. In our case, we took our own spin on oysters rockefeller, with stuffing! Put them back in the oven for about 10 minutes. Watch closely. You're looking for the breading to brown, turn into a crust.

Prepping for parsnip puree - base of the main dish...coming later

Second up: Clams w/a parsley, garlic sauce

• Handful of parsley, one pinch of garlic, half glass of wine of olive oil (aka 2 tbs). Blend until smooth. add what you need until you like it :) Consistency lighter than pesto. 
• Put wine (enough to coat the bottom of the pan) and another good pinch of garlic in a medium pan. Bring it to a boil, then put clams in (we had a bag of 12 from Harris Teeter), cover for about 10 minutes. Start paying attention though at about 8 or 9 minutes. You're looking for them to open by themselves. After 7 minutes, add half of green sauce. This is your first opportunity to see if the clams are opening. Mix everything up with the sauce. Cover that baby back up. 
• 3 minutes later (10 min total cooking time), take out the open clams and put them aside. 
• Wait another 30 seconds for the other guys to open. If they haven't opened, take them out. Don't wait for them to open. Throw 'em away. (this is our opinion, feel free to wait longer if you wish)
• Plate the clams, spoon remainder of sauce over the plate.
• Enjoy!

Third up: Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuffed mushrooms are, shall I say a staple in our house? This time, the stuffing was stuffing... typically it would be breadcrumbs. Tis the Thanksgiving season, right?

• Carve out the center mushrooms with a pairing knife (white button mushrooms... find the largest ones you can)
• Make stuffing according to package (we used the same stuffing mix for the clams and mushrooms), about a cup. 
• Mix half a cup of stuffing mixture with half handful of parsley, 2 tbs or green onions or chives (your choice), salt, pepper, 2 tbs of BACON. We found some Boarshead slab bacon on sale at Teeter, so we diced that and used it. 
• Put mushrooms on aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, spray mushrooms with olive oil, stuff mushrooms with filling. 
• Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. Then really start paying attention. You're looking for is it to start browning and bubbling ("Bubbling is always a good sign" -Mr. K). Could be up to 15 minutes. 

*Chef's note: pour glass of wine, then enjoy Mushrooms.

Fourth up: Seared Duck on Top of My Two Favorite Foods 
Mr. K knows how much I love mashed potatoes and ramen noodles, so this was a surefire way to my heart (and stomach). This dish can also be called: Hoisin Duck & Sweet Potato Mash on Crispy Noodles

• Cook ramen noodles per package directions. Only cook the noodles though. After noodles are done, drain, then toss the noodles in the seasoning. 
• Divide noodles up into mini-muffin pan. We tried different levels of filling. 
• Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. 
• If you don't have mini muffin pan (we didn't until two days ago), you can use a regular muffin pan and make 6 bites, or just use an oven-proof skillet and make one big crispy pan-sized noodle (that actually sounds awesome). 

• For the potatoes, peel them, boil 'em, drain. Mash with 2 tbs of coconut milk for sweetness (or butter if you don't have coconut milk), and salt to taste. 
• Duck: The recipe we started to follow for this called for marinating the duck for 4-8 hours. We didn't do that. We marinated it for about an hour, and it still turned out flavorful. Either way though, this is what you should do: 
• Marinate duck in hoisin sauce, garlic and ginger for "some time." 
• heat oven to 400 degrees (yes, same as the ramen noodles) 
• use a medium or large pan, sear duck breast fat side down for about 1-2 minutes. Then sear the other side for 1-2 minutes. Place duck breast fat side up in a baking dish and roast int he oven for 6-8 minutes, or until the internal temp reaches between 140 (rare) and 150 degrees (medium rare). Fun tip from the recipe we were following: Roasting the duck breast fat side up allows the fat to melt down into the meat while roasting, keeping the meat succulent and juicy. 
• Allow duck to rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes before slicing, so as to keep the juices in. Slice into 12 bite-sized pieces for serving (or however many ramen noodle crispies you have). 
• Put it all together now! Crispy noodle bite on the bottom, then spoon a bit of potato mash on top, then top with a piece of sliced duck. Garnish with whatever you like - scallions, peanut or sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. 

Note: To be honest, we were really excited for this dish, but it looks a lot better on camera than it actually tastes. Give it a shot, but it definitely wasn't my favorite. The noodles aren't all that flavorful, but the combination of purple potatoes and the duck are pretty great, so try that together.

Happy (VERY belated) birthday, America!

We love July 4th over here in our house! Something about the holiday just screams summer. We're so fortunate to have met a great group of friends when Mr. K first moved to DC after he graduated from Elon (I still had a year left). Mr. K lived with a group of the guys for three years in a row home close to the National Zoo, and they threw some of the best parties. July 4th was one of the biggest, if not the party of the year! As everyone grew up and out of the house, we thought we should carry on the tradition. We decided to cut out bobbing for airplane bottles and setting off fireworks in trash cans, and instead went for chalkboard signs and corn hole. A "1665" party can never be complete without a singing of 'Happy Birthday, America.' Oh, and red, white and blue jello shots, of course ;) (Hey Nicole!)

Happy Birthday, America!

So, this year, we gathered with some family and friends from all walks of life, and it was a blast! I was able to tap into some creativity/Pinterest-love, and turned our tablescape into something fun.Oh, and yes, we built a patio at the beginning of the summer! I'm a little late on showing that part of the house transformation ;)

My dad saw me taking pictures of the house and said he had to take one of me in front of it. Here you go!

Hey Dev!

Pre-Ada!

Thanks, Pinterest.

I think he was enjoying the So Icey Boys cake from the wedding!

Easter Weekend, Family & 30th Birthday Celebrations

Easter weekend here was a great weekend! My brother-in-law and his fiance came into town, and it was there first time here since our house had been finished. It also happened to be John's 30th birthday, which was such a fun celebration as well.

Being in DC means we have tons of brunch options... bottomless brunch options! We went to one of our favorite spots on U Street, called Local 16. Where else can you choose any entree, including (breakfast) pizzas, and bottomless mimosas, bellinis, Blood Mary's, beer, coffee and juice. The food is delicious, but the best thing is the bottomless part of it for sure! They come in big mason jars, and they keep coming.

After the brunch, we ventured downtown to see the cherry blossoms, however they hadn't bloomed yet. It's okay though, because we veered off course and stopped at Hotel Washington's P.O.V which is their rooftop bar that has by far the most beautiful view of the city, overlooking the White House and all the monuments. Such a great place to take visitors. This past weekend I had a couple girlfriends in town and we did the same thing - brunch and Cherry Blossoms - and they had peeked! They were beautiful, and I can't wait to share pictures.

Easter morning we had my parents and grandparents over for breakfast after Mass, and we had such a great, delicious spread! Didn't take any pictures of it :( We had some downtime (naptime and Parenthood marathon) for a few hours until it was time to go to my grandparents' house for dinner. We were so happy that the in-laws joined us, it made the family time wonderful!

My grandmother cooked the BEST ham that we had ever had. Everyone was raving about it, and we were so thankful that my grandmother drove to our house a couple days later and dropped off some leftovers that we didn't take with us.

One year in our home!

Mr. K, me, my parents

Hey Joe!

The Ks!

House Update #4: Roofing is Installed!

This past Monday, Martin Luther King Day (1/21/14), we took a drive out to the house before heading to a family birthday party, and we were so thrilled and excited to see the progress, even from last Wednesday! The majority of the roofing has been done and who knows what else has been done under the roof that we can't see.

January 20, 2014

We were even happier to talk to our great sales manager who said we are still on track (prior to this snow, so who knows how that affected the work) for a middle to late March settlement. As I said last time, the next step is the pre-drywall meeting, and we were told that's still on track and should be scheduled for NEXT WEEK! Holy crap. We'll start to think about giving our 60 days notice sometime in the next few weeks, but we'll wait for further notification from our sales manager as to when he thinks a "concrete date" might be set. Hopefully we can get a good idea of how much we'll be behind after this snowfall here in DC later this week before we make our decision.

I have a couple in-laws coming into town next weekend and we can't wait to take them out to the house and see the progress two weeks from now! Plus, we will be able to actually step foot inside the house for the first time at the pre-drywall meeting, so that is going to bring up another whole basket of emotions. Can't wait to share the photos from that meeting!!

Stay tuned :)

Thankful Project Day 2: A Place

This is Day 2 of the 17 days of gratitude, thought of by The DC Ladies. When I think of a place I’m thankful of, I think immediately of “home.” The reason I love “home” is because it can encompass different places - my parents’ house, my own apartment/home with my husband, North Carolina (both Elon and my in-laws’ place). Not to be a huge cliche, but “home is where the heart is,” but most importantly home is where my dearest friends and family are. When I’m with my best girlfriends, I feel at home and at peace, when I’m with my family for a party, I feel myself and I feel happy.

If you’re thinking, “Krista, you took the easy way out,” then I’ll give you this answer. I’m thankful for the Shenandoah Mountains, particularly where Mr. K and I got engaged last year. I love this place because it’s quiet, it’s absolutely beautiful, and it’s where my life with my husband truly began. It’s also a destination for a camping trip we took with our friends recently, which allowed us to hike through beautiful mountains, get lost and then find our own way back, and enjoy our journey even though we didn’t quite get to the destination we had hoped: Overall Run Falls.

So… are you happy with that answer?! What place are you thankful for?

And in other news, I'm so excited to share with you (probably next week) what new creative project I'm doing for my grandfather's 80th birthday bash this weekend! As I've said before, I'm not the most crafty person, but when I immerse myself in something and really put my mind to it, I can do it... at least in my own little way!! Stay tuned :)

See you at the corner,
Krista

My First Post Here - Welcome!

Thanks for visiting! There are so many reasons why I've decided to start this blog - but let me start from the beginning...

I'm a suburban girl at heart, moved to North Carolina to go to college, met my college sweetheart during my second semester Junior year, Mr. K we'll call him. He got a job in DC which was so convenient for our relationship considering we'd only known each other for a few months before he graduated (*dating an older man, you know it). I moved back home after college, we continued dating, yada yada. We got engaged in April 2012, got hitched May 2013.

We moved into the city together after getting married and are having an absolute blast, but we're ready to settle down..in the 'burbs. Now THAT is where this blog really got started! We're building a house, and learning what it's like to cohabitate, manage money, wine and dine on a budget, and design what's sure to be our dream home. Since we've been in the midst of this project for a little over a month now, there's a lot of catching up to do (sort of, because at this point on Monday, Nov. 11, there has been no movement on our lot).

So stay tuned for some design tips from a not-so-creative person, but lover of Pinterest, and determined to do more DIY projects in the house. A gal who likes to cook, but enjoys watching her husband do it more. A frugal person and a couple on a newly established, fairly strict budget. Trying to balance having fun with friends and family, and saving money for our family and life together. This is going to be so fun!!

See you at the corner,
Krista