Last year I made this quilt for a friend of mine going through quite a tragedy. This year she is pregnant again, expecting a baby boy in September! She has a Masters in anthrolopology and has spent time in Borneo and Costa Rica studying primates and various other species. So a jungle-themed baby quilt seemed entirely necessary. These are the fabrics I originally picked to work with:
Archive: July 2011
On Monday Meredith and I went to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met. They’re opening on Mondays just for this exhibit, and you can pay more for a ticket but avoid the now infamously long lines. So worth it, the exhibit is incredible. They don’t allow photos at the exhibit, but check out the link to the exhibit’s blog: there are some excellent photos and videos of the exhibit highlights. Two of my favorite pieces are shown in the “Romantic Gothic and Cabinet of Curiosities” post, the wooden boots (with the leather top) and the spray painted white frock. I loved the stories behind those, the audio guide is a must.
I was planning on blogging last night, I really was. About my adventures with Meredith this week. Instead, I spent a couple of hours in the emergency room. Yeah….
We made my favorite fish dish for dinner last night, that killer grilled branzino. We fired up the grill and sat out on the patio, with orzo and herbs from the garden, grilled asparagus. Perfection. But Adam didn’t get home until after 8, so we actually had dinner after dark outside. And I have this cold. And apparently those things combined completely ruined my ability to eat properly. And I accidentally swallowed a harpoon-shaped fish bone, and it got lodged in one of my tonsils.
I know I’ve been neglecting this blog since I got back in town last weekend, but I’ve had my standard post-travel cold to contend with. I’ve been largely asleep for the past week, waking up to eat and then go back to bed. But I’m starting to rejoin the land of the living, and I didn’t want to let another Sunday go by without a recipe! And this fondue was so good, we ate it while watching the German F1 Grand Prix this afternoon. So. Much. Cheesy. Goodness. And a rare chance to use the fondue pot Adam gave me for Christmas the year before last, I just adapted the directions to use the fondue pot instead of a saucepan.
I will say that we probably added almost another 1 cup of the Riesling to the pot and let it cook off, largely because the fondue just wasn’t thin and spreadable enough yet. And I did a mix of pancetta and bacon after I realized I hadn’t bought enough pancetta. And we ate it with chunks of apple and soft pretzels, not the pickled vegetables. But it was heavenly. The only thing we would change is leaving the pretzels unsalted, the packet they included in the box was WAY too overpowering.
Gouda, Pancetta, and Onion Fondue with Pretzels (From the April 2011 Food & Wine)
Ingredients:
4 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound Gouda, coarsely shredded
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dry Riesling
8 soft pretzels, warmed **We bought some frozen pretzels and just prepared them according to the directions. They only needed to be in the oven for 3-4 minutes, so we didn’t put them in until all the cheese was melted.**
Cubed seeded rye bread, cornichons and other pickled vegetables, for serving
Read more on Sunday Lunch: Gouda, Pancetta, and Onion Fondue with Pretzels…
Other Hawaii posts: Kauai, Kauai Quilting, Kauai Food, Kauai Sightseeing, Oahu Fireworks, Oahu Food, Pearl Harbor, Oahu Quilting, Oahu Sightseeing Pt. 1, Oahu Sightseeing Pt. 2.
They came while I was in Orlando!