It’s also an enjoyable genre of music.

What more could you want than music and a sandwich?

Let’s go over the Jibarito’s finer points. Instead of using bread, you use fried plaintains, which is actually harder than you might think to make. I prefer my jibaritos with steak (some people like it with chicken, lechon, or ((gasp)) veggie patties), and it’s best you marinate it in homemade mojo for a day before you cook the meat. A Jibarito is really one of the only appropriate uses for American cheese. You’ll also want to include a seasoned mayonnaise, some sliced tomatoes, and crisp lettuce. It doesn’t sound like much, but believe me, the sum is greater than its parts.

I’ve long been a fan of the Jibarito as it’s gluten free and a great way to consume American cheese without being judged too harshly by your peers. Some of my favorite places to consume these sandwiches include Cafe Central, D’Noche, and Borinquen Restaurant. Jibaritos were one of those things that I left to the professionals, until I decided to try it myself.

I had some friends from work over for a belated holiday party. I set the table.

Got the extra chairs out.

And made 6 Jibaritos using this recipe! One of them was vegetarian.

ceiling at marshall field's in chicago

I promise I won’t spend the year blathering on about preparations for the big day, but I am just a little excited. Our colors are grey, navy, and red. The gals will be wearing navy and the guys grey suits. I’m thinking dahlias (big ones) for flowers and striped table runners. It’s a little hard not to fall into the trap of looking at wedding stuff all the time, but then I find myself freaking out about a feathered headpiece and Gerard or a pal will remind me to reel it in… I’m not really a feather lady.

And also, as with most things Anthropologie, it’s important to stay away from the Bhldn website. Not that I dislike the goods, I just feel that both websites skew my vision of what is attainable/reasonable/attractive. I mean, come on.

courtesy of bhldn website

On my list of things to do, I’ve been doing a good job of exercising 4x a week (!!!) and we’ve done a good job of not eating out, unless we’re planning on it. I’ve been enjoying roasting chicken. My favorite recipe is a combination of Thomas Keller’s Roasted Chicken & the Zuni Cafe Chicken recipes. I follow all of Thomas Keller’s directions, but I use the Zuni Cafe method of airing out the chicken in the fridge for a few days before I roast it. I also let it rest at room temperature for an hour before I cook it. Tempering your meat is an important thing to do. I think we get too worried about food safety, but it’s actually harder to cook something safely when it’s the wrong temperature. We’ve also been doing a better job of sticking to a cleaning schedule around here, which mostly involves just cleaning it up as we go.

via design hotels

Wouldn’t this be a nice relaxing cap to a hiking vacation in the South Pacific?

Currently our bathroom is a little boring. We got the go ahead from our landlord to paint it and change some things up. I’m excited for this project.

Our bathroom has this ubiquitous and ugly mirror:
via faucetdirect.com

I’d like to replace it with something a bit more simple.

via Ikea

However, we’ll lose some valuable storage. My solution to this is to install some shelves in a small un-utilized area next to the sink.

Additionally, we have an ugly vanity thing above the toilet. It is small and unattractive, but not useless. I’d like to put some open shelving above the toilet where we can store towels and use more of our jars.

Here’s some inspiration:

via Remodelista

Hopefully we’ll be able to make this happen by February or March!

Onto 2012.

Sometimes Thomas and I like to drink out of fruit.

(whitney took the picture)

Sometimes we celebrate birthdays, this week Tselanie’s.

To do that, we’ll light candles.

And eat Niçoise salad.

And escargot.

YUM!

(Image courtesy of the Spice House website)
I’d also like to give a shout out to Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean paste. This product is amazing and convenient. As I re-stretch my muscles in my home kitchen and remember how to enjoy making food for pleasure’s sake & sustenance, I’m remembering that the simplest way is often the best. I also don’t have to hand whip my eggwhites to stiff peaks or get all esoteric and weird about taking logical and tasty shortcuts.

Strawberry Claufoutis

Ingredients:
2 eggs, whites and yolks separated
1 cup sugar
2 cups almond flour (gluten-free, I use Bob’s Red Mill)
3/4 cup browned butter
1 T vanilla bean paste
1/4 t ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
Oven preheated to 350
1 pie pan, greased, lined with greased parchment, & dusted with almond flour.

Method:
1. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks are formed, using a whisk.
2. Add egg yolks, mix until combined.
3. Add sugar & vanilla bean paste.
4. Add browned butter. It should be cool, not hot, so it doesn’t make the eggs curdle. If it’s still warm, temper the mix, just add a bit at a time. When it is done, it will kind of look (and taste) like the most delicious marshmallow fluff. Hey, you know what, you just made a “kind of” Italian meringue! Congrats!
5. Switch to a paddle if you have a mixer, switch to a wooden spoon or spatula if you don’t.
6. Add almond flour, mix batter until well combined (but some lumps are ok)
7. Line your greased/parchmented/floured pie pan with sliced strawberries. If you are using cherries/blueberries/raspberries, you don’t need to chop them up. You don’t have to cut up your strawberries either, I was just trying to make my product stretch. If you decide to not chop them, you will need more than 1/4 cup.
8. Gently pour the almond batter over the tiled strawberries. Be careful not to move the berries around.
9. Tap the pie pan on a hard surface to remove any significant air bubbles.
10. Bake at 350 for about a half hour, until the top is golden brown.
11. Let cool. This is important folks. If you don’t let it cool completely, it will not hold its shape and it will be a tasty disaster.
12. Once it is cooled, you get a plate and gently flip the pie pan onto it. If you’ve greased it properly, it will come right out. Remove the parchment paper, slice up and eat.
13. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting, maybe save some for your boyfriend.
14. This is really really good with coffee, a perfect gluten-free breakfast pastry.

Here are the things the apartment I looked at yesterday has: ALL OF THESE THINGS.

I HOPE we get it. The landlord was super cute and nice, and it’s through a small family owned company. FINGERS CROSSED.