Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto

Last night was FRIEND Thursday! 

We had a much needed night of hanging out and catching up over yummy food!

Yesterday I asked FRIEND what we should eat for dinner, she responded suggesting that we make something Fall-ish, something with Butternut Squash or Pumpkin.

I went straight to the Food Network Website and found this delicious recipe!

Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto

Ingredients

4 cups vegetable broth

1 large vanilla bean

3 cups peeled cubed (1-inch wide) butternut squash, about 12 ounces

2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon

3/4 cups finely chopped onion (from 1 onion)

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan 

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

Directions

In a medium saucepan, warm the broth over medium-high heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add them, and the bean, to the broth. When the broth comes to a simmer reduce the heat to low. Add the butternut squash to the simmering broth and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the butternut squash to a side dish. Turn the heat on the broth down to very low and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition to of the broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Discard the vanilla bean. Turn off the heat. Gently stir in the butternut squash, Parmesan, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and salt. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

You must get the chives! They really made the flavor tasty!

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I want to try this..

This recipe looks YUMMY!! I am a gal who has to see pictures of food before I can make it and I must say that this looks delicious!

(Serves 4)
Pink shrimp season: April–October

• 2 heads Belgian endive, leaves sliced into long thin slices
• 1/2 pound arugula
• 1 head radicchio, shaved into thin slices
• Approximately 1 cup roasted autumn vegetables or fruits to taste (optional) such as butternut squash, red onions, pears or apples
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 4 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon crushed chile flakes
• 1 pound Oregon shrimp, cooked and peeled
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

Directions

For the salad:
Mix all of the greens and divide among four plates. Set aside.

For the vinaigrette:
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large sauté pan. When it's melted, add the garlic, almonds, onion, and green onion. Sauté for about three minutes or until the onion is translucent.

Add the chile flakes and the shrimp, tossing to combine. The shrimp will begin to release some of their liquid creating the base of the vinaigrette. Add the lemon juice and simmer for two minutes on medium heat. At this point the mixture should have a slightly saucy texture.

Add the remaining butter and the chopped parsley and remove the pan from the heat, swirling to incorporate the butter as it melts. The vinaigrette should have a salsa-like consistency. Season the vinaigrette generously with salt and divide evenly between the four salads. Serve immediately.

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Fun Weekend Ahead!

I am so excited for this weekend! I have not seen My Sweeter in almost a month, and that was definitely a month too long!

We have a lot planned and I am so excited!!

Fleet week, Monterey and relaxing with yummy food and the best company any girl could ask for!

Did I mention that I am soo soo excited! :-)

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LovEvolution

So this weekend was my first experience at Love Fest...I know, I know, 5 years living in San Francisco, and I have never been! Well, this was the year, the golden year in this Golden City to attend! The weather was gorgeous and the company was even better!

The beautiful Saturday started out with getting ready at FRIEND'S house. We made shirts the night before and we decided to wear fun underwear over our leggings and our crazy FU shirts. We put on bright blue eye shadow, red lipstick and to top off the entire outfit, we used fake eye lashes, well feathers, on our eyes! 

We took a cab down to City Hall and began our journey through the festival :-) While we were waiting outside, a bunch of tourists asked to take our pictures and asked to take pictures with us--it was CRAZY! 

We got inside and ran into a few people that we knew, and I ran into an old high school friend. It was pretty funny and totally random! 

We had lots of admirers of our costumes, and we weren't even dressed that crazy! It was such a fun day! 

After our adventures, we went downtown and ate at the Nordstrom Cafe and chatted a bit. We were definitely getting weird stares as we walked through Union Square with bright blue eye shadow and red lipstick!

It was a fun day and I am so happy that I was finally able to experience it!

FRIEND's Birthday Dinner

Disclaimer:

When I cook, I eyeball it...that is how my mom does it, so I learn it all from her...sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't--Monday night worked :-)

Pesto Pasta:

Bunch of Basil

2ish Cloves of Garlic

Mint

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and process it until everything in it is really fine. Boil the Pasta and mix the pesto sauce with the noodles.

Add any cooked vegetables--I like baby potatoes and green beans. But you can add anything you want.

Garlic Bread:

(I like French Baguettes and Sour Dough Baguettes. I think that Sour Dough adds a little tang so I prefer Sour Dough. We used Sour Dough on Monday Night.)

(eyeball estimate)

Baguette

2-3 Cloves of Garlic

1/2 stick of butter

Salt

Pepper

Cut the bread in half (long ways). In a small bowl use 1/2 of a cube of room temperature butter and mince 2-3 cloves of garlic and mix together. Add some salt and pepper and spread over the two halves of bread.

Put in the oven and broil it until the bread starts to brown. Keep an eye on it, it should only be a few minutes.

Dessert: (again, I eyeball)

Heavy Whipping Cream

2/3 Tbls sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Almond Extract

Berries of Choice

Pound Cake

After dinner liqueur

In a mixing bowl, mix heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract and almond extract until the mixture is the consistency of whipped cream. You can adjust the sugar levels if you want it to be sweater or less sweet. If you use sweet fruits, it is not necessary to make the whipped cream very sweet.

Dice up the fruit and mix with a shot of the after dinner liqueur (use your best judgment). This is also good WITHOUT the liqueur. Dice up the pound cake in to small bite size pieces.

Layer the fruit, pound cake and the whipped cream and serve it in a pretty glass dish so you can show off the different layers.

My Mom always tells me::

Remember that presentation is EVERYTHING!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRIEND

Yes, yes I know this is a few days late but--life has been a little crazy and I finally have a chance to write this!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRIEND!

I am so happy that I was able to spend this ENTIRE weekend with you as well as spoil you on your ACTUAL birthday! What a fabulous weekend and I hope you know how much you are loved!

The celebrations started on Friday night! We drove back to my house and had a fun and girly sleepover with yummy sleepy time tea and a cozy bed! On Saturday, we woke up and had a lazy morning. We had a quick breakfast at home and then I took her to Walnut Creek for a pedicure! We got our toes nice and polished and then went to the Art and Wine Festival. It was a warm day and the festival was full of lively people, music and fun! After we walked around the festival, we went to Pleasanton for dinner with her family. We ate at a yummy restaurant, Baci. The bread was delicious! I had Chicken Picatta. It was so yummy! For her birthday, they brought her cheesecake with strawberry sauce drizzled over the top. It was so yummy! We drove back to San Francisco after dinner and just went back to our houses.

On Sunday, we made an excursion out to IKEA. It was a successful trip, which was nice! After IKEA we went back to my house because I forgot something at my house. Friend dropped me off and I ran a few errands. At 4:30, Erin came over and we got ready to go to the Surprise Party that a friend of ours planned for Friend. We brought cookies and Sparkling cider and haeded over to the house. We really surprised Friend! It was awesome! I was really proud of myself not to have spoiled the surprise! We ate dinner and chatted and then Erin and I left to head to the store to buy her flowers and a card and surprise her at her house.

The rest of Sunday night was stressful and overwhelming, something that I do not want to get in to. but Friend was there for me, like she always is. She is awesome!

On Monday, Friend's actual birthday, she came over to my house after classes and we made dinner. We made a pesto pasta with green beans and baby red potatos garlic bread and a dessert that I know she loves.

We drank sparkling cider (she's not 21 YET) and enjoyed our yummy meal!

She left feeling loved and with a big smile on her face!

I hope that she felt SUPER special on her SPECIAL day!

ΡΓ

This past week has been CRAZZY!!

I had deadlines at work, started a new job, had class and my first set of assignments...and on top of it all, RECRUITMENT! I was asked to be a ΡΓ and help out all of our National Sororities during recruitment. Starting at 6:30 every night, walking all around campus with 60 girls following me and ending after 10pm.

This week was very exciting, to be on the other, other side of recruitment and to see how much work College Panhellenic Council puts in to making recruitment a success. So much fun and such a great experience!

Friday was Bid Day (when the potential new members become new members of one of the three national organizations) and it went fabulously! Our balloon arch was the biggest and bestest! This year my girls did NOT disappoint! They made three! The one big one with all of our colors and 3 smaller ones that were solid colors to make an archway for the new members to be greeted by their Collegiate Gals with totes, T-shirts, and other fun goodies!

I was fortunate enough to be able to go out and watch all of the excitement! Everyone is filled with so much energy with such positive attitudes! I LOVE BID DAY!

Congrats to the Delta Pi Chapter! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you!

Job Well Done:-)

I started a new job on Tuesday and could NOT love it more!

After the initial meet and greet with my new boss, then an interview that I totally ROCKED, I finally was hired and now I am working 20 hours a week on Campus! Super easy to get to and it gives me a reason to get up and start my days!

On Wednesday night, I was feeling a little down in the dumps and not confident that I would do a tip top job. I came in to work yesterday, determined that I was going to write a press release for an open position and I was not going to quit until I got it right.

I began writing the press release and was feeling really great about it. My boss walked in and I asked her if I could read it to her to make sure that the content was correct and that it flowed. She told me that it sounded great! Then she told me that it had to be formatted a certain way. So she came over to format it and she said that it was perfect!!!

When I was leaving for class, she said, "I just wanted to let you know that you are doing a great job."

YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!

I would like to thank my Public Relations professor, Shari Weiss, for being a fabulous teacher and teaching me how to write a press!

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