We're Engaged!

Yet again, I've gone missing for a little while... but this time, it's because of very happy news!

On December 28th, Anthony proposed! We've been dating for five years and, well, I couldn't be happier!

Anthony and I started dating our sophomore year at Loyola College (now University) in Baltimore. Since then we've gone abroad together, had crazy wonderful college times together, gotten full-time jobs and moved out, survived a long distance relationship and much more. Needless to say, he's my best friend, better half and love of my life.

So, here's how Anthony proposed. He was very insistent on taking me out to dinner that Wednesday night despite the fact that I didn't want to go (I had work in the morning, he did not). His exact words were, 'if I don't give you this tonight, I won't be able to for a long time.' He was acting strange, so naturally my response was, 'wait, you're not proposing or something are you?' He said 'no, I just want to give you your Christmas gift that was back-ordered and, since busy season is here, I won't be able to take you out for a while.' I finally agreed, and Ant made reservations at 340 Grill, for that evening (he knows it's my favorite restaurant in Hoboken).

Anthony picked me up from work that evening with a bag in hand and said that it was the gift that he had been meaning to give me for Christmas. I opened it on the train before dinner and, low and behold, it was the Michael Kohrs watch that I love! He said that was the gift he wanted to give me, and we headed off to dinner (little did I know that the watch was bait to get me off the engagement scent).

Again, Ant was acting weird during dinner. He didn't check his jacket like he always does, and didn't want to order dessert, which usually means something is wrong.

Once dinner was over, he asked that we take a walk along the water to kill time before we met a group of friends at the bar for happy hour. Again, I complained because it was 28 degrees (clearly I made this entire process as difficult as possible), but agreed, so we threw on our coats and headed to Pier C Park (click here to see the pier/view). It was a beautiful night, with a complete view of the NYC skyline and the pier illuminated with white lights.

Once we got down to the end, Anthony said he had a song that he wanted to play for me that he thought I'd really like. Once he hit play, I knew the tune immediately... it was 'Marry Me' by Train. I think my initial response was something like 'wait, you're joking.' He then got down on one knee and asked if I'd marry him! (Obviously there was a speech involved, but I'll spare you the mushy details) My answer was 'of course,' and the rest is history!

We're looking at wedding dates for sometime in 2013, but for right now, we're just enjoying being newly engaged :)

Our Holiday Party! (on a budget)

Saturday night, Jenelle and I threw a Christmas party in our apartment for some of our closest friends. Of course, it wasn't anything too fancy, but we'd like to think that it turned out pretty well!

First things first, we had to decorate. If you're in need of holiday decorations, I highly recommend Walmart. You can buy a bin of 35 ornaments (like these) for only $15! They also have super cheap strings of lights for the walls and the tree. Here's a pic of our tree! Sorry for the poor quality, hopefully Santa will be bringing me a new camera this Christmas :)

Next came the menu. Again, we bought most of our groceries at Walmart since the produce is affordable. Here's what we whipped up:

• Lipton Onion Dip
• Guacamole (my own recipe... I"ll post it one of these days) 
• Paula Deen's Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps
• Santa Hat Brownies
• Martha Stewart's Macaroni & Cheese

Santa Hat Brownies - Photo Courtesy of Blog Daisy's World

The food ended up costing us around $150 total... not too shabby for feeding 20 people. If you're looking to spend less, I'd probably sub out the mac n' cheese. The cheese (especially Gruyere) can get a little pricey.  Although I thought it was sooooo worth it. 

Hope everyone has a lovely holiday season and enjoys time with family and friends!

Anthony and I in our ridiculous Christmas outfits :) 

 

Apologies for the lack of posting over the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, my mom, dad, sisters and I lost two very important members of our family within a day of each other last month: My grandfather (known to my sisters and me as 'Papa') and our English Springer Spaniel, Nina.

Fortunately, they both lived long, happy lives and we're all a bit luckier for having felt their warmth and love in our home.

(from left to right) Me, Papa, Mary and Claire circa 1994

Nina and me

Although their gone and very much missed, they'll always have a special place in my heart. Love you both <3

Confetti Rice & Bean Salad

Last night I needed a quick and easy dinner that would leave me with enough leftovers for tonight.  A friend had sent me this recipe off the blog Mel's Kitchen Cafe for 'Confetti Rice and Bean Salad.' Rather than using regular rice, I opted for quinoa (a little healthier) which tasted great. The salad is perfect alongside a veggie burger or some marinated grilled chicken!

I even ended up with enough to freeze!

Photo courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Confetti Rice and Bean Salad

* Serves 6 *

INGREDIENTS:
Salad:
3 cups cooked rice, cooled to room temperature (see note)
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed (or same amount fresh corn kernels)
4 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1 red pepper, seeded, cored and diced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients and toss. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad. Toss to coat. Chill the salad for at least 2 hours before serving to let the flavors blend.

Just Another Lovely Fall Weekend

This weekend we had some beautiful weather in Hoboken, so I thought I'd share a couple of pictures that I took with my iPhone along the way. If you have an iPhone, I highly recommend downloading the Camera + ap... it has some really neat editing features: 

The sunset over Washington Street

Anthony taking in the view during a quick break on our Saturday run

And finally, on Sunday, I met my parents in the city for a little shopping date. My mom introduced me to Mariebelle, a delicious chocolate shop in SoHo. We each got two squares of chocolate: I went with hazelnut and toffee, and mom chose ginger and hazelnut. Although the pieces were a little pricey ($2.50 a piece) they were wonderfully rich and also had adorable, unique prints on top. I'd say it was worth the dough! 

Chocolate from Mariebelle

Beautiful NYC Morning

The Empire State Building looked so pretty today on my walk to work that I just had to take a picture and share it!

View from the corner of 33rd Street and 6th Avenue

Nutella Ripple Cheesecake

Before I went home this past weekend to visit my parents, I sent my mom this recipe for Nutella Ripple Cheesecake from the blog Cream Puffs in Venice with the hopes that we could make it together on Friday night (we both LOVE Nutella)... My mom, being the wonderful mother that she is, prepared the cake herself before I even arrived and it was WAY better then I imagined! 

My mom had a few suggested tweaks to the recipe. First, since she didn't have any Frangelico in the house she used Amaretto - the almond flavor was a great compliment and added a little diversity to the hazelnut in the Nutella.  Second, she used Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers which, I think, worked better than Oreos since they don't have the cream. Third, my mom mentioned that the instructions in step six were a little tricky. When she went to pour the second half of the cheesecake batter on top of the Nutella, the Nutella seperated and all moved towards the outside of the cake. She suggested spooning the second half of the batter rather than pouring. 

And finally, mom had a great tip for preventing the cheesecake from cracking while its being refrigerated. She said that once you take the cheesecake out of the oven, take a knife and run it around the edge of the cake, separating the cake from the pan. This way the pan wont pull the cake outwards as it cools!

Needless to say, I had two (and a half) pieces within the 24 hour period that I was home. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

 

Photo compliments of Cream Puffs in Venice

Nutella Ripple Cheesecake
Based on Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake.

Note: You’ll need a 9-inch cheesecake pan for this recipe. You’ll also need some heavy duty aluminum foil to wrap the pan in. Because the cheesecake is baked in a water bath, you don’t want any of the water to seep into the bottom of your cheesecake. Wrapping the pan in foil prevents that. You will also need a larger pan that you can fit the cheesecake pan into for the water bath.

For the Crust:
2 cups chocolate crumbs (you can use Oreo crumbs or chocolate wafer crumbs)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. sugar

For the Filling:
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
3 tbsps. Frangelico
1/2 cup Nutella (the Nutella has to be fairly liquidy so I recommend warming it in a double boiler so you can drizzle it easily)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a kettle full of water to boil for the water bath.

2. Combine all the crust ingredients and pour into your cheesecake pan. Press the crumbs firmly so that they cover the entire bottom of the pan (no need to push crumbs up the side of the pan).

3. In a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. There should be no cream cheese lumps.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between each addition.

5. Add the vanilla extract, the heavy cream and the Frangelico and mix until smooth. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

6. Pour half the cheesecake batter over the prepared crust. Drizzle the Nutella over the batter and then top with the remaining cheesecake batter. Fit the pan into a larger pan and pour in the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Be careful not to spill any water in your cheesecake.

7. Carefully transfer the cheesecake to the oven. Bake for at least 45 minutes. The cheesecake should be set around the edges but still fairly wobbly in the middle. If not, continue baking for another 5 minutes and check again.

8. When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake in there for an hour to set up.

9. After an hour, remove the cheesecake from the water bath and discard the foil. Place the cheesecake on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

10. Once the cheesecake is cool, place in the refrigerator until it is very cold (at least 6 hours). If you can leave it in overnight, that’s even better.