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Yay… it looks like we are. And now that it is even later, I will sum up what I took 311 words to say earlier.

1. I’m back
2. My son and I will be baking cupcakes from a kit (a Yule gift) and uploading our kitchen hi-jinks weekly
3. Work is great but crazy. Still LOVE what I do. But 2012 is the year of moderation. No more 10PM nights for me and my team.
4. I am writing a book series. No, really, I am.
5. I will be using this spot for fun, release of frustration, etc. If you are family or friend, and I allude to you here (no names will ever be used) I am JUST BLOWING OFF STEAM. Everyone needs a way to do it. This is mine. I love you, you love me, allow me my area to do my thing.

Less than half the words I used before. HAH!

Here’s to 2012. Let’s make it great (or at least better than last year.)

Semi-homemade because he used store bought dough from a can and sauce from a jar. But you know those creative chef types? He falls squarely in that camp. He pulled some basil leaves from the backyard and a jar of German garlic sauce (almost like a pesto) and kneaded those into the dough. Not sure what he did to the sauce, but it was yummy too. Then he piled high with pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, cheese. Unfortunately I haven’t been to the store yet, so no fresh veggies like tomatoes, peppers or onions, but that’s okay. It filled the carnivore side of us tonight.

I’ll try to get Hubby to share the recipe on his blog (which he desperately needs to get working on again). I’ll let you know when it’s up there.

My husband also combines food and art but in a much different manner. He is a chef who specializes in garde manger. In addition to his wonderful edible creations, he also does the following:

You should go visit his site here.

The second tasting we had was with St. Supery. Again, excellent wines. This wine tasting we tried something a little different from all other tastings… we voted for our personal favorites from the large selection we tried.

The overall winner of the group was Virtu.

It was very good. Luckily, I was able to get a bottle to bring home. After I finish the open bottles I have (which I am happy to talk about as well) I will thoroughly enjoy this wine again.

And how cool are those labels? I was able to take an empty bottle of the Elu for my label collection as well.

If you have a chance to try the Virtu one evening out, jump at it. The wine is well worth your time and your tastebuds will be VERY happy with you.

Friday evening I was craving Mexican food and a margarita after a VERY long week at work… but Sailor Hubby wasn’t interested in going out after he got home. I was able to convince him to go for lunch on Saturday, though.

We ended up at PURE in Woodstock. It was a little more expensive than I really wanted to spend, but we got more than enough food. We were both able to finish about half of what we got.

We started with mango margaritas – frozen for me, on the rocks for SH, and a shot each of pineapple infused tequila. Mmmmm.

Then our appetizer, Queso Fundido with Chorizo. So delish!

And last, but certainly not least, the entrees. SH got the pork gorditas while I had the chicken taquitos.

So happy, and finally relaxed. At least for the rest of the afternoon.

The article is on the website, http://www.imidrinks.com/index.html. You must be of legal drinking age to enter the site. Once you are in the site, click on In the Mix Magazine, click on number 4 (Winter 07). As you flip through the pages, the first time you see Ron’s work (with the exception of a small call-out box on the cover) is on page 50. The big ceviche was made by Ron. Next, page 51, not only is the lamb dish prepared by Ron, the recipe for the sauce was created by him!

The big article is on pages 66 and 67. The whole article is on him and his career. I think it’s fairly well written. The pictures turned out great. (Now I just need to update his website and he’s good to go).