A Year of Firsts

This is the year of many firsts for Lyla. I remember shortly after she was born, the nurses kept telling us to look for her first wet diaper. When they saw that yellow line on her newborn Pampers turn to blue they celebrated and then celebrated some more. Since then, each day has brought many other firsts, and all are constant reminders of how quickly my little girl is growing up.

She had her first car ride.

Followed by her first night at home, her first restaurant experience, her first round of visitors and her first mass.

In July she celebrated her first 4th of July, went on her first walk, met her cousin Sophia for the first time and had her first bath.

In August, she had her first play date, her first party and her first round of shots. (That was one first that was not so much fun.)

In September she went on her first plane ride, visited Pittsburgh and Kansas City for the first time, went to her first wedding, spent the night at Grandma's for the first time, met her Kratofil cousins for the first time, slept in her own room for the first time and watched her first football game (one in which her Uncle John dominated).

In October she went on her first road trip to Notre Dame, rolled over for the first time, picked out her very first pumpkin and celebrated her first Halloween.

As you can see, she was not pleased with the group shot.

And last week, she had her first bowl of rice cereal.

She was no pro. I am pretty sure she got more on herself then in her stomach, but that's fine for now. We are just in the practice stage anyway. But this first felt like a big first. I experienced the same feeling that I had when I packed up her newborn clothes: proud of my little girl for growing, and learning and doing so very well, but sad that my teeny, tiny 6 lb 10 oz baby is no more. 

I know that this first will lead to another first and that with each passing day she will grow bigger and stronger. She is rolling for now, but in no time she will be crawling, then walking, then running. I get emails about where your baby should be in terms of development each week. It tells new moms  what they should be working on with their little ones and how they should be progressing. Last week it said that at 20 weeks old Lyla should be rolling one direction, be able to lift her head when on her stomach, laugh out loud, and reach for an object. I felt an overwhelming sense of pride when I realized that not only can Lyla do all of those things, but she is dominating them. She rolls not just one direction, but both. She has been able to lift her head and hold herself up on her arms for almost two months now. She's been laughing for weeks and not only does she reach for an object, she rolls towards it, picks it up and then rolls back to where she was. My little girl is kicking butt and taking names and I am one proud mama.

With my pride though, comes nostalgia. I have loved watching Lyla learn and develop with each passing day, but time is flying and I am afraid I will blink my eyes and she'll be going to Kindergarten. (I am thinking that my husband should start preparing himself now for that day. Pretty sure I am going to be a mess.)

As these days fly by and Lyla grows bigger, I keep telling myself to cherish these times. To pause and memorize specific moments so that I will never forget. To not wish away the present, but live in the "now." And this past weekend when Lyla's Fischer aunts came to visit, I did my very best to do just that. As she laughed and played with her aunts,  I sat back and watched, trying to freeze frame each smile, each look, each moment of love. She may not stay teeny and tiny forever, but she'll always be my little girl and I want to remember every precious moment, every first. 

Lyla wanted to make a very special meal for her aunts' visit. She requested, flank steak with mushrooms, roasted coriander, chickpea and lime rice (recipe below), greek salad, bread and for dessert, peanut butter and chocolate shortbread bars (recipe below). 

Marinated the steak over night.

The mushrooms!

Greek Salad with feta, cherry tomatoes and olive dressing.

Roasted Coriander, Chickpea and Lime Rice (recipe from McCormick):

Bring 1/2 cup of jasmine rice, a bit of sea salt and 1 cup of water to a boil. Reduce heat and cook on low for 18 minutes.

In a bowl combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of roasted ground coriander, 2 teaspoons of lime juice and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Whisk together. Add in 1 cup of halved grape tomatoes, 1/3 cup of chopped cilantro and 1/4 cup of green onions.

Add 1 can of drained and rinsed chickpeas and the cooked rice. Toss together and serve!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Shortbread bars (recipe from Fine Cooking):

First, to make the shortbread, finely chop 1/2 cup of unsalted peanuts. In a bowl combine 7 oz of unsalted, melted butter, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir in the peanuts and 9 1/2 oz of flour.

Once combined, place the mixture in a 9x13 sized pan, lined with foil. Press the dough flat into the bottom of the pan before pricking it all over with a fork.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then bake the dough for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Drop the oven temperature to 300 and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Let it cool completely.

To make the peanut butte filling, combine 1 cup of peanut butter and 3 oz of room temperature butter in a mixer. Add 3 oz of confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 tablespoon of hot water. Mix until smooth. Add in another 3 oz of confectioners' sugar and another tablespoon of hot water. Mix until thick.

Spread the peanut butter mixture over the cooled crust.

In a small pot, bring 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to a boil. Pour over 5 oz of chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Let it stand for 3 minutes before mixing.

Finally, spread the chocolate ganache over the peanut butter mixture. Let it rest for 3 hours or refrigerate until serving.

Enjoy!

1 Year Wedding Anniversary!

This past Sunday my husband and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. We spent the day reminiscing about our beautiful wedding ceremony and our wonderful family and friends who helped us to celebrate that great moment in our lives. In commemoration of an amazing year together, I wanted to make the husband a special meal of Filet Mignon with a Cognac Cream Sauce, Panzanella Salad and a Kahlua Flour-less Chocolate Cake. These dishes were simple, but had the necessary glamour for any special occasion.

On our wedding day!

Filet Mignon with Cognac Cream Sauce

This is a simple recipe that is a sure hit amongst all beef lovers. The Cognac sauce adds the perfect amount of elegance to the dish.

What you need:

2 Filets

Salt

Ground black, white and green peppercorns

2 shallots

1 tablespoon butter

¼ cup Heavy cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons Cognac

Start off by heating up your grill. Salt and pepper your filets and allow to sit out while the grill is heating in order for the beef to warm up a bit. Once heated, grill the filets for about 5 minutes on each side or until medium-rare. While the grill is going, prepare your sauce. Dice up the 2 shallots (this can be done in advance to save you time) and place in a skillet along with the butter. Allow shallots to cook for 3-5 minutes or until tender and aromatic. Add in the heavy cream, Dijon, Cognac and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook on low for 5 more minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Once the filets are cooked to the desired doneness, top with a bit of  the Cognac sauce and serve immediately.

Summer Panzanella Salad

This is an amazing salad that can be prepared entirely in advance. The fresher the ingredients the better the results!

What you need:

Ciabatta loaf

Mozzarella

1 Yellow and 1 Green Bell Pepper

Cherry tomatoes

Fresh Basil leaves

Italian Seasoning

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons water

1/4 cup of White Vinegar

Early in the day, dice up your Ciabatta bread into crouton size pieces. Heat up your broiler and place your oven rack directly beneath it. Broil the Ciabatta for about 5-10 minutes. Be very careful not to burn the bread; to do so, be sure to check on it frequently while cooking. If you look away for too long you may end up with some very burnt pieces!  Once golden and crunchy, remove from oven and allow to cool.

The best part about this recipe is that you can prepare all the components early in the day and then right before serving throw it all into one bowl and mix. Start off by chopping up your bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. Leave the mozzarella in a separate bowl until serving so that it does not water down the other ingredients.

Create your dressing with either a store bought Italian season package or create your own with a mixture of basil, oregano, onion powder, thyme, parsley, celery salt, garlic salt, pepper, sugar and salt. Add white vinegar, water and oil. Mix and keep in refrigerator until serving time.

Once you are ready to serve, combine all your chopped ingredients including the ciabatta and mozzarella into one large bowl. Pick, wash and dry your basil. Chop and add to salad. Add your dressing and serve!

Kahlua Flour-less Chocolate Cake

This cake is for every chocolate lover out there; it's rich, decedent and will not disappoint. I served it to my husband with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and he deemed it restaurant worthy.

What you need:

5 large eggs

1 cup of sugar

1 stick of butter

8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate – chopped and split out into 4 ounces and 4 ounces

1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons Kahlua

1/2 cup of heavy cream

Start of by bring 5 eggs to room temperature. In many countries such as France, eggs are not stored in the refrigerator. A cold egg versus a room temperature egg can bring about a different result. For this recipe, be sure to allow your eggs to sit out before using.

Melt 4 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Meanwhile chopped your butter into small pieces. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat and add the butter; stir until combined. Set aside.

Beat the room temperature eggs until they become thick. Slowly add in the sugar and continue to beat for about 10 minutes or until the mixture turns pale yellow and becomes thick. Carefully dust the cocoa powder and baking powder over the egg mixture. Fold together. Do not mix!

Add the vanilla, a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of Kahlua to the melted chocolate. Add one cup of the egg mixture to the chocolate. Stir together. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the egg mixture. Fold together. Again, do not stir.

Pour the entire mixture into a greased 9” spring-foam pan. To make the removal of the cake even easier, first line the pan with parchment paper and grease the paper on both sides. By doing so, the bottom of the paper sticks to the pan and keeps it from lifting up into your cake. The results are an easy to remove cake with a seamless underside. 

Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees. Once the cake is done, allow to cool completely before trying to remove it from the pan. If you try to move the cake too soon, it could break or crack. 

While the cake is cooling, prepare your ganache. Melt the other 4 ounces of chocolate in a double broiler just as you did before. Add the cream and last tablespoon of Kahlua. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. 

Once the cake is cooled, pour on the ganache and spread until smooth over the top of cake. Do not worry if the ganache runs down the sides -it adds the perfect decor! Refrigerate cake until serving time. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. 

These 3 recipes created the perfect first anniversary dinner! Happy 1 year wedding anniversary to my husband - I cannot believe it has been a whole year!