Galveston Island - Post Ike

As mentioned in my previous post about New Years Eve, I finally got to see a little of the Island post Ike.    I didn't get to do too much "lookie-lou-ing" (as my mom and her sister called it after Ivan) and picture taking because Ryan and I drove down in separate cars.  I had to work the whole day on NYE, he got off after lunch, and most of our friends were just off that day all together so they left in the morning.  

I got to Galveston right as the sun was going down so I didn't get to see much.  What struck me as I drove down 3005/San Luis Pass Road was the patches of darkness.  I knew there were houses on either side of me in many places, but everything was just so dark.  I have driven that road at night before and I knew the darkness was not normal.  It was eerie and sad because it meant that many people were still not living in their homes, maybe their homes would never be lived in again.

The next day, I was able to survey things a little better.  It was a beautiful day. In Suz's neighborhood, there were still piles of debris on the side of the road, washing machines waiting to be picked up, blue roofs, etc.  But they had power, water and there was a lot of activity in their area that day.  Life was, I guess, beginning to feel "back to normal" for these people.   

As I drove back toward Galveston and then up toward 45 to get to Houston, I could definitely see much more damage.  I have never seen the aftermath of a hurricane and can only imagine what it looked like in the initial days after the storem.  It was amazing to see the piles of debris still on the side of the road.  There was a home on the beach side that looked to have just fallen off its pilings and was sitting on the ground.  The side of another home was missing and I could see straight into a bedroom, complete with bed, dresser and TV.  

Of course, the most notable sight is the boats sitting in parking lots.  Boats that are not decorations for an ocean-themed restaurant.  Real boats... people's pride and joy boats... sitting in parking lots along the bay.  Here is a short video I took while driving 61st toward 45. 

New Years! A 10 year flashback.

10 years ago, we all started singing the famous Prince song "Party like it's 1999".  We didn't care that it was really about the New Years of 1999 - 2000.  It was finally 1999!  I was a senior in high school and we thought we were too cool being the last class of the 1900's.    

Lots have happened since that New Years Eve 1998 - 1999.  A random list...

• I've graduated from High School, College and Grad School.  
  
• I met Ryan.
  
• I've moved SEVERAL times - Bryan, College Station(2 moves), Houston, The Woodlands.  
  
• We've lost grandparents in both our families.
• I gained an adorable niece, Helmi!
  
• Ryan and I got married.  
  
• We've been through 3 heated presidential elections (Bush/Gore, Bush/Kerry, Obama/McCain).
• Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt got married... and divorced.  
• We've seen the country attacked on 9/11 followed by the start of two wars.  
• I read all 7 Harry Potter books. 
• I got a job.
• We've watched the economy sink into a recession.  
  
• Friends and Sex and the City went off the air.
  
• American Idol, The Bachelor, tons of other terrible reality TV and Lost came into our TVs.
  
• I made some great new friends here in Texas.
  
• I started a blog.
• I learned I love Keifer's (don't know what took me so long).
• MTV stopped playing music.

And then some things stay the same:

• My family rocks.
  
• I still talk a lot... and I still talk too loud.
  
• Sweet Tea is the best drink on the planet.
  
• I'm proud to be an American and think its the "best country ever" (cue Radio Shack "best gifts ever" music). 
  
• The Real World is still on MTV.
• Shawshank Redemption is still one of the "best movies ever".
• Mississippi State still sucks at football but I love them regardless (I'll be saying that in 2019, and 2029, and 2039....)
• I have wonderful friends, new and old. 
• A little piece of me still wants to be a teacher.
• An teeny tiny piece of me wants to be a cheerleading coach. (OK, that has changed slightly--10 years ago, it was a big piece).
• We still drive our cars on streets... no hoverboards or flying cars yet!

So, that's my quick reflection on the past 10 years.  I'm happy with the direction my life has taken me, one I never imagined in 1999.  

New Years Eve 1998-1999, if I am not mistaken, was celebrated at one of my brother's friends houses.  I think it was one of the first years James and I started going to the same parties... when our circles of friends started to mesh.   And as I look back its weird to think that not one person that I celebrated with 10 years ago was part of my celebration this year.  For Ryan, this, I am sure, is not the case.  I don't know if he specifically remembers that New Years, but I'd bet money that one or two of his friends celebrated with him in 1998/1999 and 2008/2009.  It's interesting where our lives take us.

New Years Eve 2008-2009 was spent on Galveston Island.  This year we went to Suz's family beach house.  Her house suffered damage in the lower level and they lost their boat and jet ski's during Ike.  But, the house was still structurally sound and is livable again.  More about post-Ike Galveston in another post.

I won't give a detailed play by play of the night... here are some pictures.

We lit a fire in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.

We sat by the fire off and on during the night.  We kept feeding the fire with a dead palm so there was tons of smoke. 

Ryan stopped on his way down to buy fireworks.  And did he buy fireworks.  Everyone agreed to chip in so he bought a lot.  He really was in heaven!  The assorted pack had some of the old favorites... sparkler, roman candles and snap-pops. 
When midnight hit, we toasted with champagne and took a few pictures.  
And then the boys put on a fireworks show.  I don't think boys ever grow out of loving fire and things that explode.  They set up all the fireworks in the neighbors driveway and had it all planned out.  It was quite the display... until one fell over and shot right at us... luckily everyone survived.  The girls, we stuck to our sparklers!
I had to include these pictures of the dogs because at one point we had 5 dogs at the house.  I never got a picture of one of the dogs, and you can see Milo and Scooter in the group shot above.  This is Lucy who had a hurt paw and Bailey guarding the door.  
It was a fun night with no driving!  Thanks Suz and Brandon!

This post got way longer than I anticipated.  So, I'll leave my ramblings about seeing Galveston for the first time after Ike to a separate post.  

 

I hope you have a happy 2009 and when you look back at the last 10 years, the good times out-weigh the rough times.  I can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring... I just hope they don't go by too fast.  

Christmas with Ryan's family

As promised, I am finally getting to write about Christmas with Ryan's family. This was our year to stay in The Woodlands. On Christmas Eve we ate dinner at his parents then went to church at 9. Kevin's fiance' Steph joined us for church. When we returned from church, we ate cookies. Ryan's mom bakes TONS of cookies each year and the boys EAT tons of cookies! It works out nicely (considering I baked ginger cookies and they are STILL IN MY FREEZER!) Anyway, I digress. After cookies, Ryan and I made quick stop at his friend Brandon's house. Brandon's parents always have people over on Christmas Eve and its always fun to see everyone dressed up a little after church.

We went back to Ryan's parent's to spend the night. Eric's fiance', Whitney came over for a little while. We finally decided to "go to bed" so that "Santa could come". "Go to bed" means that the boys start playing like they are 5 year olds. Since they don't have any of the newer game systems at his parents house, Ryan and his brothers started getting out all their old toys. First was the Micro Machines. Then came the Darda Race Cars and Track. To three 20-something year old boys, you'd have thought they'd gotten new iPhones! These three were in heaven building their race track.

I fell asleep on the couch (a favorite hobby of mine, don't know where I get it from, ::cough:: mom ::cough::) during most of this. I eventually got up and went to bed, which of course, Ryan's bedroom is right off the game room, so I might as well have stayed on the couch. Really though, I was so tired that I fell asleep again just fine. Every 30 or so minutes I'd hear a big roar from the game room, but I'd go right back to sleep.

We woke up the next morning and Ryan was telling me how cool all their race tracks were and how much fun I missed out on (me and the bed were having a perfect evening in my book!). He told me about how they wanted to get the Lego's out but the box was heavy so they decided not to. We went downstairs and Ryan and Kevin were all giddy about "just wait and see when Eric gets up". Well, Eric got up, though I don't know if he ever really went to bed. During all the playing the boys were taking lots of pictures and video with their digital camera's. And thanks to modern technology, we have a quite professional video of the whole evening. Eric had been up until around 7am creating this masterpiece!



After watching the video SEVERAL times, we were all in tears from laughing so hard. Then we ate breakfast, opened gifts and prepared for lunch. Oh, the gifts... so all while the boys are telling these stories and mentioning how they should have gotten the Lego's out, I am biting my tongue. What Ryan didn't know is one of the gifts under the tree was a Lego Dump Truck set (age 5-12, perfect). I knew he would like it when I bought it, but had no clue how much it would fit with the theme of the night before. I think the other boys were jealous. Aside from the Lego's, there was a prominent theme in our gift giving. Kevin and Eric got lots of tools since they are both about to get married and move into their own places. And we all got lots of "tops"... as in shirts. There was only one pair of shorts given, everything else was, as Ryan's dad said, "Tops and Tools".

Steph joined us for lunch after having Christmas morning with her family. Later that afternoon the Ryan and Eric got the old electric race car track out and built it on the pool table. This went on until at least 7pm. Boys will be boys!

(I hope to update this post with a few more pictures but I have to get them from Ryan's dad. I'll post when I do.)

Baked Shrimp Scampi

I follow FoodieBride's blog and the pictures always make me hungry. The picture I saw on Sunday made my mouth water so the recipe was added to my menu for the week. I added pasta and it was delicious. I don't know why her husband didn't like it. :)

Baked Shrimp Scampi
Modified recipe from FoodieBride
1 lbs shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp dry white wine
2 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper, divided
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced shallots
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Zest and juice from one lemon
1 egg yolk
2 slices of 7-grain bread, processed into course crumbs
8oz pasta

Preheat the oven to 425.

Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, wine 2 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of black pepper. Let sit and prepare the topping.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, bread crumbs (reserving some for the topping), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper until well mixed.

Put the pasta in a medium baking dish. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer on top of pasta. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp.

Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over the top and turn the broiler on for 1 minute or until golden brown. 

Serve with lemon wedges and dish with a slotted spoon to leave all the extra butter behind.

While the shrimp baked, I sauteed some zucchini.  I sliced the zucchini through the vegetable slicer I use to make fries.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in pan over medium heat.  Add zucchini, sprinkle with Garlic Pepper and a dash of Tony's.  Stir and cook until the zucchini is at the desired softness.

Skee Ball Tournament!

Saturday night we went to dinner with some friends.  After dinner, one of our friends suggested we go to this local bar that has a skee ball machine.  Yes, I am talking Chuck-e-Cheese style skee ball.  

We decided to set up brackets and have a tournament.  It was $1 per game, which is steep, but the bartender came and gave us several free rounds so that helped.    In the first bracket, it came down to me and Ryan.  He won!  Then some more friends arrived so we did another bracket.  I once again made it to the finals, but lost.  :( 
It was a fun night!  And to top it off, there was a guy there wearing tight rolled jeans!  The 80's are back!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I forgot a recipe in my last post about the appetizers I made for our party.  This was probably the MOST FAVORITE recipe too!  

Ryan and I have a dear friend, Rich, from Millsaps.   Ryan and Rich were fraternity brothers and best of friends through college.  Rich got married after college and he and his wife, Mary Ann, were living near New Orleans when Katrina hit.  Though they were able to repair the damage to their home, Rich's company decided to move its operations to their office in Houston and Rich and Mary Ann decided to move too.  They purchased a house just 5 minutes from ours and we have enjoyed getting to see them and their two kiddos more often.

Rich and Mary Ann came to visit us twice before they moved here... both during hurricane evacuations.  The first time was right before their wedding, for Hurricane Ivan (I think) which ended up turning and causing devestation to my favorite beach town, Pensacola, Fl.  During the week they were here, we had a bunch of our friend over and Mary Ann made spinach artichoke dip.  It was a big hit.  Since they have moved in, we have had this dip at there house several times and Ryan and I have fallen in love with it.  

I have officially stolen the recipe and make it often.  Its super easy and always a hit!

Spinach Artichoke Dip
1 small onion finely chopped
1 stick butter
2 boxes frozen spinach
8oz. cream cheese
8oz. sour cream
1 can artichoke hearts in water
8oz. Monterey Jack cheese (I use pepper jack cheese)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1 bag tostitos chips

Saute onion in butter until clear. Add drained spinach , add cream cheese, add sour cream. Remove from heat. Add chopped artichoke hearts, add parmesan cheese, salt, and peppers. Mix well. Top with Cheese of choice and you can either microwave or put in oven just until cheese is melted. 

Party Appetizers

As promised, the recipes for the appetizers from our Tacky Sweater Christmas Party.

Ham and Cheese Rolls

1 pkg Puff Pastry (sheets)

Sliced Deli Ham

Colby Jack Cheese (sliced is best)

Let puff pastry thaw on counter until its easy to work with.  20-30 Minutes.

Preheat oven to 400.

Unfold puff pastry.  Place 2 or 3 layers of sliced ham on the puff pastry, leaving one inch uncovered.  Place one layer of cheese on top of ham.  Starting from the shorter width side, roll puff pastry toward uncovered end.  

If preparing ahead of time, wrap entire rolled log in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and put in freezer.  When ready to cook, let thaw until able to slice.

Slice log in about 1/2 inch pieces and place on greased or non-stick baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes--until pastry is golden brown.

Each log makes about 12 pieces.  Notice I used shredded cheese because we had a ton of it.  This worked, and was easy to prepare but didn't work as well when it was time to transfer to the baking sheet.  The cheese would fall out.  

These were a big hit and we ran out before all the guests arrived.  I had an extra puff pastry sheet but no ham.  My soon-to-be-sister-in-law Steph suggested I use the Pepperoni Slices that she saw in my fridge.  I layered the pepperoni with mozzarella cheese.  Delicious!

Peppermint Bark

Inspired by FoodieBride

8oz Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate Squares

8oz White Baking Chocolate Squares

Peppermint Candy (I used candy canes)

Melt chocolate in separate double boilers.  I made my own by placing a glass bowl on top of a pot of water, where the water was just touching the bottom of the bowl.  

While chocolate is melting, line a 9x13 baking pan with wax paper and crush peppermint.

When chocolate is melted, drop alternating spoonfuls of chocolate/white chocolate into baking pan (where it looks like a checkerboard).  Using spatula, swirl chocolate just enough so that it covers the pan.  Sprinkle peppermint on top.  Cover and store in refrigerator until hard.  Break into pieces.

Some people layer the chocolate and white chocolate instead of swirling.  Several people on a local message board commented that their two chocolate layers never "stuck" to each other due to the humidity so I decide to use FoodieBride's swirl approach.  Success -- and it looks pretty too!!

Pepper Jelly Cups

Found on RecipeZaar

A couple of years ago, some of our college friends went to my best friend Margaret's lake house in Louisiana.  Their property has two cute, modest houses on it and a huge sloped yard down to the lake (perfect for slip-n-slide).  Margaret's parents stayed in one house, all the kids in the other.  Her mom made sure we had snacks, one of which was a block of cream cheese with Tabasco Pepper Jelly (red) on top.  I fell in love with this snack and often take it to parties.  

I bought some Phyllo Dough on a whim before the party and then searched the web for something to make using it.  When I came across this recipe, I thought it was perfect for the party since I could buy the green and red jelly.

8 sheets frozen phyllo pastry sheets, thawed

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 (250 g) package cream cheese

1 jar hot pepper jelly (I use Tabasco Brand and got a jar of red and a jar of green for Christmas)

Take 2 sheets of pastry and cover the rest with a damp cloth to keep from drying out.

Brush a thin layer of butter on one sheet and stack the other sheet on top. Brush one half of top sheet with butter.  Fold the stacked sheet in half.  Brush top with butter.

Cut that into 12 equal squares. A pizza cutter works great for this; I used scissors.

Press each square into a greased mini muffin tin.*

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Repeat with remaining sheets, remembering to keep unused sheets covered.

Shells may be frozen at this point or filled and ready to serve.

Place 1/2- 1 teaspoon of cream cheese in the center of each tart. Top with 1/2 to 1 tsp of jelly.

*I used my great-grandmother Nana's little tart cups to make my shells.   Grammy gave me these cups at one of my wedding showers where the guests gave me recipes. The note read "Sarah, These little tins belonged to your Nana.  Each one has a "W" on the bottom - you know how Nana identified all her stuff! I wanted to share these with you.  You will need them with one of my recipes!  Love you, Grammy."  Every kitchen item Nana owned had a W on it.  Actually... it was everything she owned, even Papaw's socks!  Grammy and Nana made many batches of little tarts with these cups (lemon and strawberry for sure) and I am thrilled to finally get to use them. 

Devilled Eggs

I do not have a real "recipe" for devilled eggs.  I just add stuff until it looks good and tastes good.

Eggs

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Pickle Juice

Paprika

Boil eggs -- Place eggs in pot and just cover with water.  Bring water and eggs to a boil.  Turn off heat, cover pot and let stand for 18 minutes.

Peel eggs and slice in half, putting yokes in a bowl, whites on a plate.  

Mix yokes with a couple of spoonfuls of mayo and a squirt of mustard.  Add a spoon of pickle juice.  I mix in my mini food processor to get it really smooth.  Use just enough mayo to get the yoke mixture smooth.  If it tastes a little bland, add some extra pickle juice.  

Place yoke mixture in a zip lock bag.  Cut tip off bag and squeeze into egg white cups.  (I got this little tip from Martha Stewart.)  This makes it very easy to fill the eggs without having to make much of a mess, and easier to prepare in advance, store in fridge and fill right before serving.

Sprinkle with paprika.