April General Conference and Passover Seder

As always, LDS General Conference was excellent.  Scott and I had a fabulous time enjoying great talks and great food (and great naps).

The Saturday morning waffles we made were SO good, we wanted to share them with President Eyring.  Mmmm, waffles!

 

 We also made Giada's lemon, basil, and eggs focaccia loaf.  Drool!

A few days later we celebrated Passover!  No, we haven't converted to Judasim.  Conference wasn't THAT unbearable. Ha ha ha... oh dear.  Dumb joke.  Moving on. 

A BYU professor of Near Eastern Studies and Ancient Scripture hosts a Seder every year around Passover for students, professors, alum, and people in the community.

Last March Scott introduced me to Dr. and Mrs. Ludlow's Passover Seder.  We had such a great time last year that we invited Sunny and her boyfriend Justin to join us this year.  Good times.

We tried to warn Sunny and Justin about the Maror (bitter herbs... in this case: raw, freshly grated horseradish!)   It... tastes... like... BURNING! 

Sadly, we didn't capture any post-Maror pictures, but you can imagine them looking something like this... which probably isn't enticing anyone to join us for the 2010 Passover Seder.  D'oh! 

Anyhow, a big shout-out to Sunny and Justin for sharing the fun (and bitterness) with us.  We will most definitely be going to Dr. Ludlow's 2010 Passover services again, so anyone who wants to join us will be welcome.  Just don't say I didn't warn you about the bitter herbs.

Our First Valentine's Day!

Yes, that's right... yesterday was our very first Valentine's day as a couple. We struck up our first real conversation at the Sugarhouse 24 Hour Fitness on Feb. 16th last year, missing V-day by a mere 48 hours (we moved FAST!). BTW, that means Scott and I have now been conversing on a pretty regular basis for exactly one year as of this very day! I think we'll go to the gym later to mark the occasion... and attempt to work off a few of the gazillion calories we consumed on Saturday. Speaking of which...
Scott told me he already had some plans in mind for the day (seriously, I really think I am the luckiest woman in the world! My husband is AWESOME!), but I wanted to contribute to the occasion... So, I put together an overly ambitious brunch that actually turned out really well. I think those cooking classes paid off! Here are some photo highlights:

Traditional Mexican hot chocolate with cream and a homemade churro.

Paula Deen's Brie en Crout with green apples

A Cuban/Colombian hybrid sandwich... Colombian arepas for the bread, black beans, plantains, avocado, queso fresco, and Cubano style pork. Praise the Lord for Latin American cuisine!

A little love teart with caramelized shallots, Spanish drunken goat cheese, thin sliced tomatoes, basil, and parmesan.

Are you drooling yet? Mmm!

Scott told me earlier in the week that I needed to find a formal dress for the evening. (How much fun is that?!? Bonus: Scott looks SO HOT in his tux!) At first I was really excited about the idea of getting all dressed up for a romantic night with my honey, but then I realized how much I DON'T love shopping for dresses. Thank goodness I was able to find a great little number on sale at Macy's (for reals, Macy's! They actually have some really cute dresses. Who knew!?! Thanks to Mary for meeting me at the store on her way to class to confirm my purchase. Sometimes you've just gotta have a little validation!). Am I still telling this story!?! Is anyone still reading this?!? Bless your heart if you're actually reading this not just browsing through to look at the pictures ;) I'm using this blog as a journal of our first year being married, so I'm more concerned with capturing my thoughts on our adventures than I am about writing some brilliantly brief summary of each event.

Anyhow, moving on... Scott made reservations for us to eat at La Caille (Oh la la!) which, let me tell you, completely lived up to the hype! That's a once in a decade place to dine, so make sure you show up hungry! But don't be tempted to eat the entire hot out of the oven bread basket before ordering... damn those French and their perfectly baked bread! For appetizers we ordered lobster bisque and pate d'jour (which happened to be duck that day), then they brought out an amuse-bouche of smoked duck with a herbs and a pickled cucumber slice. SO GOOD! We both had the arugula, goat cheese, and yellow beet salad with a balsamic vinagrette (we re-created this at home... so simple and SO delicious!). For the main course Scott ordered the Tournedos Vin Campignon (grilled tenderloin tip with a mushroom-white wine sabayon) and I got the ahi tuna Chinois (rare ahi tuna tempura-style, rolled with nori and wasabi). We were in HEAVEN! Despite bursting at the seams with fullness we ordered the trio of La Caille desserts... creme brulee, chocolate chantilly cake, and beignet Francaise. Like I said, this place is a once in a decade experience... I feel confident that we made the most of our experience.

After dinner Scott surprised me with tickets to the Pioneer Theater Company's production of Romeo and Juliet (are those of you still reading this extraordinarily long post just SO jealous of how awesome my husband is!?! I would be!).

Happy 2009!

Dear 2009,

2008 was one of the best years of our lives:

Scott and I met, fell in love, and got married. We traveled, took cooking classes, ran a whole bunch of marathons, and LOVE being newlyweds!


So 2009, as you can see, you have a lot to live up to. Good luck!

The new year is off to a pretty great start so far. We spent the last day of 2008 and first day of 2009 at my family's condo in Brian Head. It's been at least a decade since I have seriously considered skiing... but I married a hard core skier man, so I thought I should at least give it a try.


It was SO much fun to run into Hil and Wade on Giant Steps. Good times.

Yes, this is me showing off the full extent of my current 'pizza/french fries' level skiing abilities. As mentioned earlier, it's been 10+ years since I have strapped 2 separate pieces of wood to my feet. It wasn't pretty, but I made it down the mountain in one piece.

I LOVE Scott's sexy Christmas beard. Grrrrr!

We were on the mountain until the sun went down. We were SO tired!

This picture is for my niece Kate... remember our little 'adventure' on the double black diamond? Hmmm? We are definitely taking a map with us next time.

We LOVE Brian Head!

The Staples clan always ends up gathered in the kitchen at the end of the day.

My Dad was blessed with SIX daughters and only ONE son. So, when the whole family gets together, my Dad and brother can't be blamed for wanting to have a little "man time". Famous Larry-ism: "I have a wife and six daughters... even the dog is a girl. There is WAY too much estrogen in this room right now. My son and I need to go out and shoot something." Enter the annual "first weekend in January Larry Staples' son, grandsons, sons-in-law, and daughter's boyfriend pheasant hunt." The girls went shopping all day and our men came home with a big bag full of dead birds. Modern hunter/gatherer society is awesome!

Nephew Michael was a champ preparing the pheasant for dinner. Is there anything more appetizing than a garbage sack full of meat? Don't answer that. When eating the meal, I just told myself the meat came straight from the grocery store. (I usually ignore the fact that all meat has a few unpleasant stops before it makes it to the sterile packaging of my local mega-mart.)

The newest son-in-law did his part to prepare a feast for his woman. Actually, thanks to a recipe from Alice Winterholler, the pheasant was delicious! And, despite the safety net of having 4 dentists at the dinner table, nobody chipped a tooth on stray buckshot. Thanks Michael and Scott for doing such a great job prepping the birds!