Oscar Night

Happy Monday kids! Shaun and I had a film-filled weekend. We spent Saturday eating way too much popcorn at the AMC Best Picture Showcase viewing 4 best picture nominees. It was SO fun! The day kicked off with Winter's Bone, followed by Black Swan, Inception and The Social Network. The day was topped off with The King's Speech which we skipped out on since we had seen it a few weeks ago. Plus the 2 barrels of popcorn and bucket of diet Coke left us feeling not-so-much after 8 hours.

I think my favorite movie of the day was Black Swan.

It was haunting, but fantastically done. The camera work alone was Oscar-worthy in its conveyance of Nina's meltdown. I had super low expectations of this film (since I am still haunted by Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream...eek.), but I ended up really, really liking this one. I also thoroughly enjoyed Winter's Bone (which we knew absolutely nothing about before we saw it) and The Social Network (which I had no expectations for). My least favorite was Inception. It seemed a bit disjointed and I honestly just didn't 'get' it. I wanted to though! Anyone else with opinions on these films? I will say that my top 2 movies of the year were The King's Speech and The Fighter, followed by Black Swan and then The Social Network.

The Oscar weekend culminated at a little Oscar party with my mom and my cousin Veronica on Sunday night at my parent's house. We kept the night light and healthy with some delicious eats. We made cheesy, low carb tortilla pizzas...

 

Shrimp cocktail...

 

and a lightened up chicken Caesar salad...

 

Before getting super sleepy on the couch, Mom and I made some tea and snacked on her newest creation, healthy coffee cake muffins!

These were so good and a perfect sweet treat to top off the night! I slept at my parents house and now I get to drive into work with my Dad, our old tradition that was lost after I got married and moved out of the house. Before Shaun and I got married, I lived with my parents and would drive into Manhattan every morning with my dad. We were both so sad when our daily tradition was broken, so it's very fun to dabble in this again, if even for a day!

So that's my Monday story. What did you do this weekend? What was your favorite movie this year?

What I'm Digging This Week

Happy Friday friends! Though it's a rainy miserable one today, I can't help but be skipping along since it's almost the weekend. Last night I went to the eye doctor to get my eyes dilated. Has anyone gotten this done before? I have to say (I know I'm kind of a baby about these kinds of things), but it was pretty miserable. Everything was super blurry and all the lights looked like fireworks. Good thing I didn't drive there or I wouldn't have made it home. So I ended up laying around without cooking or blogging last night. So instead of yummy recipes or restaurant roundups, today I'm bringing you a few things that I'm digging this week!

My favorite on-the-go breakfast. I started drinking smoothies a couple of months ago and absolutely love them in the morning. In my usual mix is almond milk, a piece of fruit (usually a pear or banana), a few scoops of canned pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla extract and if I work out in the morning, some vanilla protein powder. Oh and just last week I turned my smoothie into a green monster by adding a handful of baby spinach! Yum!

Parenthood. I finally caught up on like 5 episodes this week and I somehow forgot that this was my favorite show in the Fall. Shaun doesn't watch it so it can be tough to keep up with it, but I'm vowing never to let it spiral out of control again. I must make time each week for this wonderful show!! Anyone else watching?

Deborah Lippmann Dark Side of the Moon. I have my nails painted with this gorgeous color this week and am loving it. Though this brand can be pricey, the quality and color are tops.

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AMC's Best Picture Showcase. Shaun and I are going tomorrow to catch up on our Oscar films! I've wanted to do this every year and never went for it, but this year we are going all out. The day starts at 11:00 with Winter's Bone, followed by Black Swan, Inception, The Social Network and The King's Speech (the latter of which we already saw, so we will probably skip out on that one). On Sunday I'll be watching the Oscars with my mom and am already devising some fun eats for us...any suggestions?

The Hunger Games series. I was very hesitant to try these books out. When my sister Christine told me about the description, I looked at her and said...why would you think I would like that? But as she is usually spot on with all things pop culture, this series has not disappointed! I have loved every moment of it, though if I might, Mockingjay has been leaving a lot to be desired. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and am hoping for some serious pick up soon!

 

Aruba. It never gets old. I always reach a point in the winter when I approach the end of my tolerance for cold, dreary weather. I'm almost there and dreaming of my favorite family vacation spot, and home of my 2008 wedding.

 

Oh and while we're on the Aruba matter, I could really go for one of these for breakfast today...

 

Followed immediately by a slice of this.

I guess I'll have to settle for rain and the impending weekend instead, with hopes of a cupcake at some point :)

So what do you think? What are you digging this week?

Mushroom, Spinach + Cheddar Tarts

I love magazines. I love scouring them for all sorts of ideas, and food is no exception. This month's Real Simple magazine has been pretty jam-packed with good recipes. I've already made 2 of them and both have earned spots in my permanent recipe collection.

It's only fair that I share with you, don't you think?

And I really love this recipe. Not only does it utilize my friends puff pastry and white wine, but it combines vegetables with decadence. Perfection, wouldn't you say?

I love this recipe even more because it can easily be a weeknight meal yet it's completely appropriate for a dinner party, or even made into smaller pieces for a cocktail party. The earthiness of the mushrooms combine just beautifully with the sharp cheddar cheese while the white wine adds a depth of flavor that I just love so much. It's really a miracle ingredient.

Mushroom, Spinach + Cheddar Tarts
*Adapted from Real Simple
1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted
1-2 pkg mushrooms, sliced (I used a mix of white button and baby bella)
2 C fresh spinach
1 shallot, diced
1/4 C white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
1 C extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
kosher salt & pepper
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet. Add the shallot and cook for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.

Cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes, but don't overcook them since they are going to cook in the oven too. Add the wine and spinach and cook until the spinach wilts and the wine starts to evaporate, just a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, unfold the puff pastry and cut into four equal squares. Prick them all over with a fork. Cover the pastry with half of the cheese, leaving a border around the edges.

This is also a good time to sample some of that cheese. You know, just to make sure it's tasty.

Add the mushroom-spinach mixture to the pastries and then cover each one with the remaining cheese.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the pastry is golden brown.

We enjoyed this alongside a salad and it was the perfect, elegant, quick dinner for 2. Not to mention some sweet leftovers that Shaun took for lunch the next day.

Oh and the base of this recipe can be used about 100 different ways by simply changing up the vegetables and cheese. I'm envisioning goat cheese and tomato tarts, feta and artichoke tarts, these would even work as mini pizzas! The possibilities are endless.

Are you a magazine reader? What are some of your favorites?