1. I didn't take my exercise mat to the Wildhorse Resort, but still did some shorter exercise routines on the carpeted floor of my room. Today, though, while Debbie went out to school to get a few things done, I rolled out the mat and went through my entire routine, doing stretches and lifts intended to stretch and strengthen muscles in my legs and hips and strengthen my core.
Some of my routine involves using a chair, but much of it involves the mat I purchased and I'm thinking that simple mat was one of my smartest buys in a long time.
2. Christy hosted tonight's family dinner and assigned me to make Loaded Sweet Potato Bites as an appetizer. All I had to do was peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into rounds, put them in a bowl, and toss them in olive oil, chili powder, and garlic powder.
I'd preheated the oven at 450 degrees. I put the rounds on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and baked the rounds for 10 minutes, flipped them over, and baked them another 10 minutes. Once baked, I put a few drops of Frank's Red Hot Sauce on each, then sprinkled grated cheese on each round, and, when the cheese melted, garnished each round with thinly sliced green onion and a dollop of sour cream.
It was easy to prepare and, I must say, they were really delicious -- the combination of spice and hot sauce was pleasingly balanced by the sour cream and cheese and the potatoes' sweetness, making it a tasty appetizer that worked for every one.
3. Christy planned out an exquisite dinner focused on fall flavors. She bravely decided to cook pork roulade which involved slicing pork tenderloins so that they become tri-folds, lying flat on a cutting board. Then she covered the pork with fresh sage, figs, gorgonzola cheese, and garlic. The next step was to roll up the pork pieces and tie them. Lastly, Christy rolled these tenderloin rolls in herbs and brown sugar -- it's called Brown Sugar Roasted Pork Tenderloin.
Why did I say "bravely"?
Christy had never tried this way of cooking meat before and it took courage to try it out for all of us at family dinner -- and the same time, let me say that one of the things I find most fun about family dinner is that we often try out ways of preparing food we've never done before. The new, for her, cooking idea Christy tried out tonight involved careful cutting of the tenderloin and cooking the meat just the right amount of time.
On all fronts, Christy succeeded!
It was an awesome centerpiece to our meal.
Christy also made a bowl of Trader Joe's Autumn Blend, a potpourri of different grains. Carol assembled a fresh and delicious green salad with apples.
We started the evening with the appetizer I made accompanied by a Cranberry Kiss, an autumn themed cocktail that Christy mixed.
We ended the night with a piece of Christy's Bourbon Applesauce Cake topped with fresh whipped cream. Christy also set out an array of liquors to drink with the cake: Crown Royal Apple, Makers Mark, Brown Sugar Bourbon, and Amaretto.
Our family dinners are always delicious.
Sometimes, we have a dinner that is simply more creative, ambitious, daring, and delicious than usual.
Tonight's dinner was one of those!
I didn't want it to end!
By the way, our conversations were scintillating, too.
Wedding talk. Talk about monotheism. Discussion of a talent show, of sushi, and even some talk about scary movies!
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