A tasty, rainy, West Coast Christmas

Despite our best efforts to the contrary, coronavirus trapped us on the West Coast for a second year in a row. We made the most of it with a very last minute celebration with a few Argentinian friends who were also stuck in this corner of the planet. Though family was only with us on zoom, family tradition was very present as we baked the most prized of family heirlooms, my great-great-grandma Aloia's manicotti recipe. While various renditions of the family not-so-secret tradition in numerous matriarchs' handwriting circulate through the generations, now seems as good a time as ever to ensure that I've got an electronic back-up. So, though the writing of this blogpost may be anything but inspired, its contents most certainly are. Here for posterity is the Aloia Family Manicotti Recipe!

We couldn't enjoy the holiday with family but we did enjoy it with a family tradition: manicotti. Yum!

Ingredients

• 8 eggs (6 for pasta, 2 for filling)
• 1.25 cups flour
• 1.5 cups water
• 3 pounds ricotta
• handful of grated Parmesan cheese
• salt (0.5 tsp & a pinch)
• pepper (0.25 tsp)
• grapeseed oil
• 50-60 ounces of tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Whisk 6 eggs and water together.
2. Sift the flour into the mixture, continually whisking.
3. Add a pinch of salt.
4. Heat a 6.5" cast iron fry pan over medium-low heat. Use a pastry brush to coat pan with a thin coat of grapeseed oil.
5. Pour less than a quarter cup of batter into the pan, tilting to cover the bottom.
6. When the edges of the crepe begin to curl and the crepe looks solid, flip it onto the other side to cook. Do not brown the crepe.
7. Move the cooked crepe from the pan to a paper towel.
8. Repeat steps 5-7 until batter is used up. Between crepes, as needed, re-apply a light coat of grapeseed oil using the pastry brush. In all, at least 24-30 crepes should be made.
9. Mix together the ricotta, salt, pepper, 2 eggs, and Parmesan.
10. Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking pan to coat.
11. Fill each crepe with approximately 1 tablespoon of the ricotta cheese mixture. Fold over the sides of the crepe. Lay the crepes side-by-side in the pan.
12. Add a layer of sauce between each layer of cheese-filled crepes.
13. Pour a final layer of sauce atop the crepes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
14. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour or until hot in the center. Cover with foil to avoid drying out while baking.
15. Enjoy! :)

I hope your holidays have been equally delicious and filled with loved ones, be them acquaintances of the old & dear or more recent variety. Cheers to saying F-off to 2021!

Twas the Night Before Christmas, 2021

 Twas the night before Christmas and all through the flat,

Not a creature was sober except maybe a cat.

Flamingo stockings hung by the bookshelf with care,

In hopes that Nico would enjoy the Christmas flare.

The kitties were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of tuna fish swum through their heads.

And I with my shaker and Nico prepping the rest,

Had settled our brains for a winter taste test.

We started with raspberry, creamy and light,

Then onto the yuletide spice for the night.

It flowed from my glass, such a wonderful flavor,

A taste that our holiday guests could all savor.

And so with our mixing skills all in full gear,

We perfected our Christmas cocktail for the year.

Raspberry cream mimosas

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 2 cups of frozen raspberries
• 1/6 cup (or 2 2/3 tablespoons) white sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 bottle sparkling wine
• a few fresh raspberries for garnish

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, thaw the frozen raspberries on medium heat until they've broken down and become soup-like. Add sugar to the sauce, stirring until it dissolves. Remove from heat.
2. Filter the raspberry sauce to remove raspberry seeds and fruit guts.
3. Add heavy cream to the filtered raspberry sauce. Chill. (We tried freezing it in the photos above but ultimately think it's better with just some fridge time.)
4. Mix equal parts raspberry cream and sparkling wine.
5. Top with fresh raspberries.

The Harvest Sparkle

What it lacked in photogenicity it made up for in flavor. This wintery bourbon-prosecco drink may just become our new Christmas classic.

Cider syrup ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Cocktail ingredients (1 serving)

• 1 ounce bourbon (or whiskey)
• 1 ounce prosecco
• 0.7 ounce cider syrup
• 1/2 sprig rosemary
• ice

Instructions

1. Make the syrup: mix the honey, orange juice, and spices in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until it starts to bubble, then remove from heat for 5 minutes.
2. Mix the bourbon and syrup over ice in a cocktail shaker.
3. Add prosecco and garnish.

Home sweet home

One month ago today we spent our first night in the new place, and it's been a little over a week since we hosted our first bash. With cat-flap glass panel installed into our patio's sliding glass door, both we and the cats have been making the condo and the entire complex home - Mars even swung by the pool area while we were enjoying the hot tub earlier this evening and escorted us back into our unit. So it seems about time to share the before-and-after collages that show how we've started making our first condo into a proper home. It's modest (at an obscene Bay Area price tag) but it fits us very well. Come take the tour!

Step into our new home.

As you walk in you'll see the kitchen to your left.

Before you you'll see the open plan dining and living spaces.

From your seat at the dining table, you can look back to see the kitchen and, beyond that, our second bedroom and bathroom which were currently renting out to the roommate we took with us from our last home.

Come check out the living room, pictured here from several different angles - top is what you see as you first approach it from the dining area. Below, to the left is what you see while standing by the bookshelf shown at the very right in the previous image, and to the right is the view from the back corner where the table lamp stands.

From the dining room, you can also walk out the sliding glass door onto our spacious patio, now furnished with a six-seater table and a small light-up electric heating bistro table with chairs. It's illuminated by some surprisingly convincing solar-powered faux candle lanterns.

When you walk into our home, rather than veer left after the kitchen, you can also take a hard right and peer into the master bedroom where, after nearly five years of marriage, we've finally gotten around to framing and hanging a few wedding photos, shown above.

When you walk into the master suite, you'll find the bathroom to the right.

If you make a left instead, you'll soon notice our charming modestly-sized walk-in closet, which is forcing me to keep my dress and shoe collection strictly under control.

And finally our lair, where sleeping into a king-size loft bed is totally a legit thing that grown-up married adults do.

We've each slotted our desks into opposite corners of the window wall, with me tucked neatly behind our staircase to the bed.