What's for dinner

Bacon wrapped thick cut pork chops with honey mustard glaze

This ended up being a lot easier and faster than I imagined. There's a little prep work, though. I made a brine with salt and brown sugar and let the pork chops hang out in the brine in the fridge for 3 hours. I don't use nearly as much salt as traditional brine recipes call for, maybe 1/3 less salt. Preheat the oven to 425.

Make a honey mustard glaze, stir half mustard and half honey. You only need enough to brush on both sides of the chop after it's seared.

I used the Costco sized boneless pork chops, which was just the right diameter for 1 strip of bacon to wrap around and overlap enough to stick a toothpick through and attach to the chop. You could also use twine to tie around the diameter of bacon and the chop. Generously pepper both sides, don't use salt because it should have enough salt from the brine.

Preheat a saute pan on high heat. Sear the seam side of the bacon to seal onto the chop for 2-3 minutes. Flip the chops to the peppered side and sear both sides until nice and brown. Remove from pan and place on baking dish. Brush honey mustard glaze on both sides. Transfer to oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 155. Remove from oven and let rest in baking dish. The chop will continue to cook until the temp reaches 160-165. The bacon should be crispy around the chop. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving, and make sure to remove toothpick or string.

Approved

The word "approved" just makes you excited, doesn't it? People always seek approval for the most part, whether in action or for something they want like a loan. I got a call from the Perinatal office this morning and on the message was, "You have been approved for a consult with our office..." I got excited--for a second. And then the realization hit that I was approved because my records that were faxed over from my OB/GYN were worthy enough of a perinatologist. I didn't even think there was a question of approval, but when she put it that way, it was a little sad. However, I totally have my hopes up that with the extra attention of a specialist, I can have a normal pregnancy. Or maybe the psychological factor of having a person paying a lot of attention to a pregnancy makes me feel comforted. Heck, maybe he'll have some more ideas of test that be be run. So I have my consult with the specialist Feb. 10. I'm looking forward to hearing the plan of action.

HSG round 2

Before getting pregnant with Sophia, I had gone through a lot of fertility tests. The HSG was the last procedure on the infertility checklist, and we lucked out by getting pregnant that same cycle, otherwise we were headed to IUI or IVF. Those who followed my old blog read about the step by step process, and I'll spare the details of this one. The difference between this procedure and my first one was that in the first procedure it was a study to see if my fallopian tubes were blocked or if there was an abnormal uterus that was causing the infertility. This time, the HSG was to check for any damage caused by the ectopic pregnancy, and to make sure my right fallopian tube was clear. After a little resistance on that side, the fallopian tube is now clear and there was no indication of any damage. So we are good to go! Back to the drawing board...

21 months old

Sophia had her wellness check today and she continues to be in the 90th percentile for height and weight. Her Dr. asked a bunch of development questions, all which she passed because she's of course brilliant, and I'm totally not biased. So I'll take this opportunity to update her fans on the latest things I don't usually discuss--the brilliant parts of her--unlike the day to day monster parts of her. Ha.
She has started to play pretend, loves to pour us tea and clink the cups together and say "cheers!" She is starting to show interest in her baby dolls. She put her baby to sleep the other night, and whispered something in the baby's ear. Her new word is "pictures." She wants to look at photo albums and all the pictures on my computer all the time. She's starting to put words together to form sentences. She's starting to read me books and incorporates the pictures of the book into her "storytelling." She loves to sing "Row your Boat" and the "ABC" song. She loves to kiss everybody and everything. She gives really big hugs and squeezes so tightly, she makes a grunting sound. She loves Elmo and Curious George. She is becoming a little OCD about brushing her teeth and washing her hands. She loves to explore outside, and do busy work. Here's a little picture of her busy work.

My weekly obsessions

• "Spa" water--not the actual water from a spa (eww), but the water they serve at those fancy spa retreats. I sliced 1 lemon, 1 mandarine orange (cuties), 1 lime and about 5 small slices of cucumber. Add water to a pitcher and continue to add water as you work through the pitcher, up to 2 days worth of refills. Go easy on the cucumber or you may experience some additional benefits of colon cleansing.
• Cinnamon Schoolbook cookies from Trader Joes

Grocery store marketing

The oh-so-obvious candy and lollipops at the checkout stand have nothing on the strategically placed mylar balloons in the bakery section. Of course Sophia spotted it all the way from the produce section, screaming "ELMO!!" at the top of her lungs. I whipped my head up from the task of garlic bulbs, and looked in every direction, even toward the ceiling, thinking that maybe Elmo was dangling from the rafters. And then I followed Sophia's pointed finger to a big smiling Elmo balloon. I attempted to calm my focused little monster down, while a creeping panic started up my spine. The produce section was my first stop in an unimaginable line of aisles where I would have to endure the shrieking from Sophia if I do not give her that balloon. When we got home, Sophia still had a strong grasp on Elmo's string. Rick greeted us with a "Who's birthday is it?" I responded, "It's someone's somewhere."

Making dinner- lessons learned part 2

Never place cold water in a very hot--just out of the oven--glass dish. It will shatter into a million pieces and almost give you a heart attack.

Unfortunately, my big mess overshadowed the salmon steak that had been baked in the 8x8 glass dish. Fortunately, I had removed the salmon steak and had most of the food on the plates before the disaster struck. Obviously not thinking, I wanted to "deglaze" the dish which was coated with a honey citrus crust, in hopes to remove the glaze before it cooled off and would be almost impossible to scrub clean. Cold water doesn't work with hot glass. The second I put the glass down on the stove top, it shattered into a million pieces. It took about 5 minutes for my heart to beat back to normal.

Lingerie rack

If it weren't for child labor laws, I'd highly recommend Sophia for hire. She does a great job as a drying rack.

Making dinner--lessons learned

I've made quite a few dinners in the last few weeks, but sadly nothing that I'd feel comfortable sharing. I wonder when my cooking mojo will return?
The other night I made a pork roast. It was cooked perfectly but just didn't have any flavor. I should have marinated it or let the dijon and rosemary sit on it for a few hours before cooking. Lesson learned.
Last night I made chicken cacciatore. I thought I did everything right, but when it came to eating the chicken, it was questionable whether it was cooked all the way inside. It simmered for 3 hours, and I had browned the outside beforehand. How could it not be cooked all the way through? My only guess is that the pot was overcrowded. Lesson learned.
Tonight I'm heading back to basics. I'm going to make a shrimp and artichoke risotto. I hope I won't have to report any more lessons learned for awhile.

Happy New Year

I am so happy it is a new year. It seemed almost cleansing to put up the fresh new 2010 calendar. I'll just throw it out there, 2009 sucked. The year did have some good moments, almost exclusively "Sophia moments" with a few other exciting things thrown in. But when I look back on 2009, it won't be too fondly. I've had a few conversations with people that feel the same way. Lot's of people lost their house, their job, their investments. I'm not typically superstitious, but I have a good feeling about this year. It has a nice rounded out feeling about it. So happy NEW year!