weekend recap

Oh hello!  Thanks for bearing with me last week in my absence.  Our big event at work went well and the best part is that it's over for another whole year. We had a pretty low-key weekend - lots of resting.  Here are a few photos...

Friday night I pretty much crashed. It was thai take out, a glass of wine, and the couch. I couldn't even muster up enough energy to go to our local go-to Friday night spot, Friedman's. Lily was okay with this plan.

Having gone to bed at 9pm Friday night, I was up early Saturday. These two on the other hand weren't with me on my early rising.

I headed out for my hair appointment - no cut this time, just a freshening of my highlights. Going to the salon is one of my favorite things ever, and it is even lovelier with this view from inside their brownstone in the West Village.

After a golden touch to my locks, I had to shop a little for a few specific items. I tell you, when you know what you want and are trying to get in and out quickly, it seems that all of New York is also in the store milling about getting in the way. Seriously, for just buying a scarf, a top, and some make up, I was gone 3 hours and spent most of that time waiting in lines to try on/check out. Remind me to do all my holiday shopping online this year. Woof. No pretty pictures because I was busy surviving the hell that is the Zara fitting room, but here's what I purchased if you're curious...

• Blanket Scarf from Zara
• Top from Zara
• Bare Minerals from Sephora (I haven't used since college, but I'm loving it again for weekday wear!)
• Dior Eyeliner from Sephora
• Distressed Jeans from Madewell (probs didn't need these...)

Dinner Saturday night was with our good friends Daniel and Sara at one of our favorites - Pagani. Again no photos because we were having such a grand time (I was off my game with the photos this weekend...weird). Side not about Pagani, they offered gluten free pasta so if you're g-free you should def check it out.

Image via Pagani

Sunday I did one of those wake up and start tidying the house turned into all out cleaning, organizing, and putting stuff away. It felt good to have everything back in its place and clean. We even cleaned Miss Mayo.

And then she helped me with some computer work. Seriously, this is how I type when I'm working from the couch. She has to be as close to me as possible. 

And then...big surprise...we napped.

#sundaysarefornaps

We opted to not buy groceries this week - we both have stuff after work each night. So I scrounged through the fridge and found enough ingredients to whip up calzones for dinner. They didn't turn out half bad. And we have left overs for lunch this week. 

And let's close with a cute face shall we?  It'll help you through your Monday.

Hope you had a relaxing weekend! 

french onion soup pasta

It's been awhile since we've had a real deal Wine Night recipe up on The Rose Record. And boy do I have the recipe for a comeback. A few weeks ago it was finally starting to feel like fall. A little bite in the air. Just a hint of that dead leaf smell (love that smell btw). I wanted something comforting and fall-ish for dinner. But I also was ready for my weekly dose of pasta.

And then in this clever brain of mine I envisioned a bowl of French onion soup running smack into a box of penne pasta (my brain frequently operates in cartoon-mode). I took the beginning method of cooking french onion soup and added pasta at the end, topped it all with cheese per tradition, broiled it, and then immediately devoured it. You know you've made a good dish when you can barely stand to spend a few minutes photographing the finished project because you must. eat. it. now.

This is a great one for a Sunday supper or a weeknight when you have a bit more time. Caramelizing onions can take some time and cannot be rushed so don't try to cram this entire recipe into half an hour. We liked it for Wine Night because as the onions did their thing we opened a bottle of wine, chatted about the upcoming weekend, and played fetch with the worlds best french bull dog. Moral of the story - enjoy the process with this one. The slower pace and hearty outcome are just what this season is all about. 

French Onion Soup Pasta

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized yellow onions, sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• leaves from two sprigs of thyme (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 cups unsalted stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable - whatever you have on hand)
• 16 oz. short cut pasta (I used mostaccoli because in the freak world that is NYC grocery stores, I couldn't find penne)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups grated gruyere cheese (or any Swiss cheese is fine)
• 1/4 cup reserved pasta water (you may not need this)

Directions:

1.   Set a Dutch oven to medium heat and add the oil and butter. 

2.   Once the butter is melted add all the onions (it looks like a lot but they will cook down – trust me).

3.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, throw in the thyme and stir. Let simmer for a total of 40 minutes. Stir them every five minutes or so. Don’t stir too much; you want them to get that good caramelization from the heat of the pan. They’ll be ready when they’re golden brown and taste sweet. 

4.  Meanwhile, while the onions are cooking, bring a pot of water to boil. Once boiling, salt the water and add the pasta. You want to cook the pasta a few minutes shy of al dente - it will still have a bite to it. (Don't worry; we'll finish cooking the pasta in the onion broth because that is the juice of the Gods).

5.  Once your onions are brown, add the garlic and thyme and allow to cook a few minutes until fragrant.

6.  Once your garlic is softened, add the stock to the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom. (This is a process called deglazing. Deglazing is fun!) Turn the heat up to medium high and bring to a boil. 

7.   Once the onions and stock are boiling, add the pasta. Stir to combine and cover with a lid. Cook five minutes until pasta is al dente.

8.  Once pasta is cooked through, stir in half of the cheese and season with salt and pepper. If the pasta doesn't seem 'saucy' enough, add in some of the reserved pasta water. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and pop the whole thing under the broiler for five minutes.  Or you can spoon the pasta and onion mixture into individual bowls or gratin dishes and top with cheese and then broil (just make sure your bowls are oven safe). 

Nutrition: (per serving)

• Calories:  520
• Carbs:  63
• Fat:  22
• Protein:  21

^^ P.S. This is what caramelized onions look like and that brown stuff on the side of the pan is all the flavor that you get after deglazing. To some this picture is awful. To those of us who know the power of onions, this is a masterpiece.

Bon appétit! 

vacation recap: napa valley part 2

Let's finish of these summer vacation recaps before October hits, shall we? As a reminder, we spent two days in San Francisco (here and here) and have covered our first day and a half in Napa. Next up is our final day and a half in the beautiful Napa Valley. I might cry writing this. I want to go back so badly, and it was at this point in our trip when we started getting that panicked feeling that our vacation was almost over. Take a look...

Our second full day began with fruit and homemade English muffins (!!) on our darling patio. This reminds me that I was going to figure out a good recipe for homemade English muffins. These were out of control. And yes that's me wearing the plush bathrobe provided by the hotel. I believe that if there's a bathrobe to be worn, one must wear it as much as possible.

It was a bit dreary outside, but we didn't mind. We quickly ignored the overcast after Paul the driver took us to our first winery of the day - Celani Family Vineyards. This might have been my favorite stop. The history of the family, talking with Wendy their Sales Director about the wines and how vineyards in the Valley operate, and the views made it a great experience. We felt at home. And LOVED their wines, particularly the sauvignon blanc.

  

^^ More roses at the end of the vine. Beautiful and functional, as we learned the day before.

^^ A feeder for the bats! Yes, bats! They keep critters out of the vineyard and their poop helps fertilize. Who knew?

  

^^ We also loved loved loved the cab sav on the far right with the black label. Oh goodness it was luscious. 

^^ The guest house/office. I'll gladly work from there.

After Celani it was on to Whetstone. This darling old stone barn has been refurbished to a cute open big room with old wood floors and giant rod iron chandeliers - kind of castle like. A great place for parties and the wines weren't bad either! Another group joined us halfway throughour tasting so I stopped being that girl taking pictures of wine bottles.  

  

And then, I had one of the best moments in my life. I'm not even kidding. Next we headed for lunch at a place that mostly only locals know of. I read about it on a recommendation that had been passed on from a local to a friend of ours. We headed to La Luna - a mexican grocery store that has a small taqueria in the back that serves the most incredible burritos in the world. I'm dead serious, this was the best burrito of my life. I've dreamed of this burrito tens of times since we've been back home. Wine shcmine,  I go to Napa for the burritos. 

^^ Aisles and aisles of dried spices and peppers. Really something. I should have grabbed some for chili making this fall.

  

^^ Rice, beans, some seriously good carne asada, tomatoes, onions, salsa, guac, cheese, lettuce, sour cream. HALLELUJAH!

This is the face of happiness... (and yes we ate our burritos in the car because we are glamorous people - and because we were running late to our next stop).  

 Our next stop was just down the road from La Luna at a very snazzy site - Round Pond Estate (except I kept calling it Round Pound on accident...so there's that). The tasting was outdoors and up on the roof area overlooking tons of vines and palm trees. Round Pond also does lunches and dinners here and we watched a table full of elegant looking ladies having a tasting menu for lunch with wine pairings which would be so fun if you didn't know about the kick ass burritos down the road. 

^^ Palm trees will forever throw me off and capture my attention. I'm just not accustomed to seeing them.

^^ I'm a sucker for an outdoor fireplace. Bonus points for outdoor fire place with a view. 

 

^^ Spotted: our driver Paul. Hi Paul! Seriously the nicest guy. Email me if you want his contact info.

^^ Reminds me of that big clock at the Musee d'Orsay

Our final winery of the trip was a good one. By The Godfather himself, Francis Ford Coppola.  You've probably seen the Coppola wines in your stores at home, these are from the same dude, but a different location (? I think? Maybe? Wine makes me forget.). These were from his nicer collection from the Inglenook Vineyard. The setting felt very old Italian.  And there was a lot of memorabilia throughout. Not pictured below - Al having a coronary at all The Godfather stuff.

^^ I spy Al.

^^ It's like a scene from The Godfather, but with palm trees...and chiavari chairs.

^^ Hey FFC! Hey!

^^ Our favorite wine from Inglenook. 

And then, sadly, we had to say goodbye to our new friend and driver, Paul. And then due to burrito-pocolypse earlier that afternoon, decided to not go out for dinner and stay-in and order room service, visit the hot tub, and lounge around the beautiful hotel. It was a wise decision. We were stuffed, I don't' think we even ordered our food until very late that evening. It was the perfect last night in Napa. (Side note / travel tip:  We always like to leave one night of our vacation without a dinner reservation for either room-service occasions such as this or to dine at a spot that the locals recommend.)

^^ All hot tubs should come next to an outdoor fire pit.

 

^^ Room service done right. Grilled greens salad (with bacon) and Pasta with zuchhini (and bacon).

^^ Duh we Facetime-d Mayo. She didn't even wake up for us.

The next morning we had a few hours before we drove back to San Francisco for our flight. We took a long walk through Yountville stopping for pastries at Bouchon (where we met and chatted with former Chiefs player Eddie Kennison). 

^^ I could have watched her roll out and fold pastries all day.

Stumbled across The French Laundry garden. Beautiful fruits, herbs, and veggies. I could have stayed here several more hours. Apparently admiring tomatoes isn't as fun for Al. 

  

^^ Foot shown for scale. Holy zucchini!

^^ The French Laundry. Sad we didn't dine here this time, but  we didn't seem to miss it - so many great meals we had. Also, I was totally expecting a grander, fancier facade.

We had about an hour until we had to pack up and leave, so obvi I hit the pool. If professional sunbather was a job I'd be hired on the spot.

^^ #longtoes

After a short drive back to San Fran, we were up and off to watch our friends get married in Jackson Hole and then a few days later we were back in NYC.  Our time in Jackson was great, but I'm don't think I'm going to do a full recap. We did mostly wedding-related activities so I don't have a lot of knowledge to give you you guys. But man what a beautiful place. You can see some photos on my Instagram.

  

^^ That moon though...

Yet another great summer vacation. Al and I have so much fun planning these trips (see more on our process here and here) and it is such a great exercise as a couple. I really think that traveling with your significant other is a must do thing before you get married. It shows your compatibility and helps you problem solve as a couple, and of course there are some really great memories and moments to share. 

Okay, now that summer vacation recaps are over, I'm ready for fall.  ☺

Be sure to check out the rest of our summer vacation posts: 

San Francisco Part 1

San Francisco Part 2

Napa Valley Part 1

Napa Valley Part 2