Sunday, November 29, 2009

what I took away from Thanksgiving...

... was a sugar rush! Can you see why?!





After all the yummy food... was dessert. And there were enough desserts on the table... we each could have had one to ourselves.

Simply... too... much! Wow...



Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thanksgiving was over the top...

... and we are ever so grateful for our blessings!

First we started off with a slice of Heaven. A Holiday sourdough treat that I discovered for the first time this year. My friend Claudia told me about these scrumptious treats... thanks Claudia! You helped make the day. There's nothing like some GREAT sourdough on the holidays!



We packed up our goods and drove to my Aunt and Uncle's house out in Alpine. They live about an hour away ... and if you know me well, you know I love hitting the road and going for a drive! We packed up our stuff... and an hour later walked into a house that smelled like this...



Yeah, words cannot explain... except to say that turkey had been bathing in a brine of wine. So you know how I feel about that.

And from the kitchen, this is the view...



Seriously! How can one get any cooking done when the view looks like this?! That's El Capitan Reservoir. Doesn't it make you want to get int he car and go for a drive too?!



So, we took one last pic and then put the camera down. It was time to soak up God's beauty, laughter with the family, and the smells coming from the kitchen... we are so blessed... can you see the tear in my eye?!



Happiest of Thanksgivings to you, from Lori and Lee ... now, it's time to break out the Christmas stuff, get wrapping those presents we send to Oregon and Texas, and light the "Frosted Berry" candle. Hmmmm.....

Friday, November 27, 2009

RECIPE: onion dip on steroids

Recently, a friend of mine turned me onto this recipe: Pan-fried onion dip. Thank you, Barefoot Contessa... this dip is sooooooooooooo stinking good. You didn't have to share this recipe with the world... but you did! Thank you for that!



And I've made it a few times and it's a great hit... from a house-warming party to the office to a Creative Getaway... the dip is a hit! Again, Barefoot... thanks for helping me look so good. But I have decided to raise the bar... just a couple extra steps. Take a stroll through my kitchen and see for yourself. Here's how I do it:

First, I fry some bacon in my All-Clad... I love the way that pan crisps up the bacon!



While the bacon is frying, I slice up two medium-sized yellow onions.



And like the recipe calls, I add some butter and oil to the pan WITHOUT removing any of the bacon grease. (I just reduce the oil by the approximate amount of bacon grease left in the pan...)



The heat is set to medium heat, and I'm stirring those onions around like there's no tomorrow... ok, but only because I'm scraping off all the bacon goodness from the bottom and sides of that All-Clad pan. Go ahead, I dare you... oh, and don't forget to add those spices. The cayenne pepper is a perfect fit!



And while Barefoot Contessa's recipe says to brown and caramelize the onions for about 20 more minutes... I let mine hang out on low for almost an hour. Just makes them a little darker... and a little more fantastic!



Next? Well, let's back up for a second... before I started slicing the onions I took out some cream cheese to come to room temperature. To that I added some sour cream and mayonnaise... yes, it's that creamy!



And then it's time to bring it all together. First we add caramelized onions to the creamy goodness...



And then we crumble about 4 slices of bacon in there... and keep stirring...



And that's it... it takes some time... but it's oh-so-worth-it!!!



So, can you blame me?! I crust up some bread under the broiler (drizzled with a little bit of olive oil)... and start dipping...


Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all...



Today is the day it's mandatory to be grateful... but I find that if you have the right perspective in life, everyday is Thanksgiving.







We live in America... we are blessed people. We are loved. What more could we want...

I love my job...

Well, let me rephrase: I love my job and I love my hobbies. And sometimes the two worlds collide! Last weekend I had the opportunity to take pictures of a co-worker and his family. It was time for the annual Marshall family photo shoot. They pick a different spot each year... and while this post is more about the scenic pics I took than their pics, I'll share one of my favs of their family with you... aren't they cute?!



We didn't know what the weather was going to be like. http://weather.weatherbug.com/CA/San%20Diego-weather.html?nav_section=1&zcode=z6286 was calling for rain. But we arrived at our destination and the glorious sun was shining! It was just beautiful!


This is what the drive there looked like - and yes, I confess, some of these pics were taken while driving. (Do you call that DUIC? "Driving under the influence of camera"?) Enjoy ...








The 209 fwy South takes you through Point Loma and into Cabrillo National Park. As you are driving south, on the left is the bay of San Diego. You can see: the airport, Coronado Bridge (in the last pic - it's right in the middle of the shot), Coronado Island and tons of sail boats. Simply breathtaking...

And then you start the descent to the coast line...



And then you find a parking place and step out of the car. But watch your step...




And from here, as long as you have a good sense of balance and a willingness to slip and fall... it's all good... (some of us fell on the slippery rocks, some of us got drenched, and some of us knew better... i dare not expose our identities... )









So, you can see why I say "Life is Good!"... it's days like this that I am reminded of how blessed I am to live in Southern California. (And the traffic didn't even bug that me that much today... must've been happy I wasn't one who slipped/fell near the cliffs... )

Sunday, November 15, 2009

An early Thanksgiving... for traditions long lost...

So, here's a tad more of an update from our family time together in October... in Oregon.



We like to stay at Eagle Crest Resort which is in the Redmond/Beand area. This year we had the opportunity to spend about a week together ... and decided to celebrate a family Thanksgiving together. It wasn't quite November yet... but we still enjoyed turkey, mashed potatoes and all the fixin's... yummy! I think it's been over 10 years since we've had a Thanksgiving together... does that sound right?!



And when I saw we enjoyed all the fixin's... that included black olives on our fingertips!



Grampa & Gramma Haraldsen sure do love to take care of us... they are great hosts and we enjoyed our time together immensely.



What a great time together we have in the high desert in the Fall... sure hope we can keep enjoying these times together...




We love you guys...


Monday, November 09, 2009

Dear Husband Lee and my Papasita...

The Haraldsen side of the family got together last month. First we converged on Salem, OR... we packed into the Gene & Janie Haraldsen homestead. Mom had decorated the house up so beautifully for Fall... it smelled great and it looked great and it felt like home.



We gathered, we enjoyed time together, we had a big breakfast with amazing waffles and a whole pile of bacon. Life is good. Have I said that yet?




My hubby and my Dad... posing for the camera... aren't they cute?! I think I'll keep them ... both!

Copyright

All images are © Lori Tisdale, 1990-2011 unless otherwise noted. Images are posted for your personal inspiration only and may not be copied/pasted into emails to share with anyone else, posted on other sites, copied for publications, contest submissions, or monetary gain. I'd have to track you down and who knows what would happen then?! Thank you for being considerate.