Best Ever Brisket

Those who know me personally, know that I'm not a big red meat eater. There was a point in time where I wouldn't step near a steak, claiming I could "feel it clogging my arteries" if I ate it. Of course my palate matured, as did my attitude towards meat. I realized that once in a while a GREAT piece of beef is needed to satisfy the carnivore within.

Jake and I are also HUGE fans of the Food Network, and Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. When Guy Fieri visits BBQ joints, I can see Jake starting to drool from across the room. Despite my being a novice when it comes to cooking, I love trying new recipes and having them work out well. Every once in a while, Jake asks for a certain thing for me to make. This time, it was brisket.

Brisket is Jake's favorite type of BBQ next to ribs. Of course, a whole brisket is a tad pricey for our house, so it's a big treat when I make it. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and I'd love to share it with you!

Best Ever Brisket
Recipe by: ChristineD of allrecipes.com
Prep Time: 10 mins, Cook Time: 4 hours, TOTAL: 4 hours, 10 mins
Makes 16 servings

2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp seasoned salt
1 (4 pound) beef brisket
1 1/2 cups beef broth

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine chili powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, sugar, and seasoned salt in a medium bowl, and blend thoroughly. Apply rub to surface of brisket.

3. Cook brisket, uncovered, in a foil-lined (believe me, you NEED to foil-line your pan/dish), in preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and add beef broth to roasting pan. Lower temperature to 300 degrees, cover roasting pan tightly with foil, and cook 3 more hours. Let brisket rest 30 minutes before slicing.

Here's a picture of our glorious brisket before we cut it.

Enjoy!

And...it's over.

Tax season, that is.

I do apologize that I've been lax in blogging lately, especially since I made it a personal mission to post more, but tax season is tax season and it's frikkin demanding. It demands attention, fear, stress, sleeplessness, and one day that you work for nearly 24 hours in order to make sure all your clients' returns or extensions are timely. It's exhausting, and now it's over.

This weekend will be our first weekend together as a family without any outside commitment since January. Yes, January. We plan to take Scarlett swimming at the Richmond Plunge and on Sunday, we're going to the San Rafael Civic Center Farmers Market as a family...just the 3 of us. I plan on getting a cup of coffee and a belgian pearl sugar waffle with a smear of Nutella on top. I probably won't be able to post over the weekend, so I will be sure to reinstate my blogging sometime next week full force.

Knowing a miracle

So as I try not to cry as I write this post...OK, already tears are falling...I have to look back on the past year.

A year ago on the 19th, after a long day of baby showers, trips to the Oakland airport and picking out a recliner, my water broke. 27 hours later, I got to hold a miracle. Today, our miracle is one year old. Yup, the tears are definitely flowing now.

If someone had told me 2 years ago, in the midst of medications and blood tests and the pain of every cycle going by without being pregnant that I'd be here, crying at my keyboard writing a post about how my daughter is turning one year old today, I would've told them they're headed for the loony bin. The journey seemed so endless, so hopeless. There were definitely times where I lost my sense of self-worth.

I wish I could say I had a flawless pregnancy, and I did up until about 24 weeks when I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. 3 weeks after, I was diagnosed with Hypertension brought on by pregnancy and needed to be closely monitored for fear of it turning into Preeclampsia.

At 1:34am, Jake and my life changed forever. We were no longer just husband and wife, but a Mommy and Daddy. In all her 6lb, 1oz glory, Scarlett entered our lives and our hearts. In everything we'd been through for the three years leading up to the pregnancy, she was many prayers answered, and a real-life miracle.

I know all babies are miracles, and they are. I truly believe every baby, be a living or angel baby is a miracle. I just felt so honored that she chose us as her parents. I would not change the past year for anything in the world because she is a part of that past year. Having her as our daughter is the most amazing gift I can imagine.

So on March 21st, 2011 at 1:34am, I got to hold a miracle and I'm so beyond happy that I still get too. If anything, she is proof that prayers never go unanswered.

Happy Birthday Scarlett! I love you more than you'll ever know!

7 years ago...

It was March 16, 2005. I was meeting up with some friends to have a late night bite at Carrow's and go to play some pool. En route to the restaurant, I got a call from a familiar number. It was a guy I hadn't really talked too since our first date two weeks prior. A lot of stuff had happened in that two weeks and I, admittedly, was avoiding him. After coming to the realization that he was genuine and just wanted to talk to me, I answered my phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Laurel? It's Jake."

"Hi! How've you been?"

"I've been alright, how are you?"

"I've had better days. What are you doing right now?"

"I'm at home watching a movie. What are you up to?"

"I'm meeting some friends at Carrows and then we're going to play some pool. You wanna join us?"

"Sure, let me put my shoes on and I'll meet you there."

"OK, see you there!"

A few minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot and walked in. My friends were sitting at a booth within a direct line of sight of the front door. I walked over, greeted them, and let them know Jake would be joining us. About half of them had met him already, so they knew him a little bit. I sat down and started talking. A few minutes later, I looked up and saw him walk through the door. It was the day before St. Patrick's Day, so he had a Guiness baseball hat on with a black button-up shirt and jeans. Something came over me and I just walked up to him and gave him a HUGE hug. The hug must have lasted a full minute. We walked over to the table and had our late meal and headed over to the pool hall. It was all flirting and me apologizing for being MIA for the previous weeks. I had explained that I was going through some personal stuff and didn't want him to get mixed up in it. His understanding and the way he looked me straight in the eye while telling me that he missed talking to me and that he just wants to spend some time with me really hit me hard.

After everyone else drove away to their respective destinations, Jake and I stayed and talked in the parking lot for the next couple of hours. After that day, we talked or saw each other every day.

7 years later, we've been through a lot. We've been through health issues and broken bones. We've been through deaths in the family and the birth of our daughter. We've been through starting a business and infertility. Through all of it, he still looks me in the eye like no one else ever has. He still holds my hand when I'm sad or afraid and rubs my back when I can't sleep. He stayed awake for 48 hours straight while I was in labor and after Scarlett was born. But most of all, he's my best friend...all because of one phone call.

I love you, Jake. Thanks for calling!

For your viewing enjoyment

I haven't posted videos in forever, and I stopped Weekly Video because it was getting kind of tough to find videos worth viewing, let alone posting.

I haven't really posted any videos here of Scarlett, even though there are a few on YouTube. Here's her most recent, because I think it's hilarious.

Enjoy!

LoLo's Homemade Garlic Bread

I've never posted a recipe of my own before, and frankly, I'm nervous. I only post recipes that I find worth sharing, and I've never tried something on my own just to see how it goes. I'm not that courageous when it comes to cooking - mainly because I don't want to be one of those people on Food Network's Worst Cooks in America that gets to say "I put my husband in the ER from my cooking". Yeah...not for me, thanks.

But a friend of mine once invited me over for an early dinner and ever since, I've been making this garlic bread. I was raised with the "bake and serve" Colombo garlic bread which is tasty, don't get me wrong. But this is just divine for me and I usually end up eating more of the bread than what the main course is. It's easy and it's done in about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

LoLo's Homemade Garlic Bread
Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes, TOTAL: 20 minutes
(serves 4-6)

1 Loaf Pugliese Bread (Pugliese is an Italian bread that is crunchy on the outside and semi-soft on the inside - feel free to use whatever bread you'd like)

6tbsp stick butter softened (NOT MELTED)

2tsp minced garlic

Ground black pepper

Ground white pepper

Onion powder

Shredded parmesan cheese (I use fresh shredded from the deli, but you can use what you want)


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Farenheit

2. If using Pugliese bread, cut off the ends and cut the middle section into threes. Once you have sliced "rounds" of the bread, cut those in half so you have the bottoms and tops. Arrange on a baking sheet (I use a cookie sheet)

3. Soften butter and add minced garlic. Mix together. Spread butter/garlic mix evenly over the "insides" of the bread sections.

4. Sprinkle onion powder very lightly onto freshly spread butter. Follow with a sprinkle of black pepper (use a little more black pepper than onion powder) and then white pepper.

5. Sprinkle shredded cheese onto bread. I usually make sure the cheese fully covers the top with a little extra for some extra cheese (I mean, really - who doesn't like (LOVE) extra cheese?)

6. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes (10 minutes will just melt the cheese, but 15 minutes will make the cheese semi-golden brown - so 12 minutes might be a happy medium)

7. Take out and enjoy! Careful, the cheese might take a couple of minutes to cool down enough to eat.

It's that easy! Let me know what you think if you try it! :)

Sometimes I amaze myself

I did something yesterday that I would NEVER do under any other circumstances other than for the man I truely love with all my heart.

What I did took a lot of mental and emotional preparation. It took nerves of steel. It took a lot of "get over yourself!" in my mind.

I can't divulge what I did right now because it was for Jake's 5-year anniversary gift.

I amazed myself though that I pulled it off. It wouldn't have been possible without two great friends, and you know who you are.