Ciabatta Stuffing with Pancetta & Mushrooms

This Thanksgiving I cooked the turkey and stuffing.  Let me just say, I am not a fan of turkey...unless it's roasted and thinly sliced on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes slathered with Caesar dressing sandwiched between a huge soft and flaky buttered croissant.  But I was designated to cook it because one, my niece wanted it {but she didn't even eat it} and two, the middle sister wasn't here to cook it.

Anyway...I prepared and cooked the turkey the way a friend did last year a la Chef John's videos on Foodwishes.  For me, it was just OK.  &&& I'm a pretty mean cook {toot-toot}.  I tell ya, turkey and I just don't mesh well.  Because the turkey wasn't as great as I expected {I had high hopes because my gal pal is one mean cook too}, I will instead share the deliciousness that is ciabatta stuffing with pancetta and mushroom.  I've made this for past holidays and it's always a hit, especially with the baby sister...she loves her pancetta!

What you need {scroll down for the deets}

Saute until crisp and golden brown, then remove to let it cool.

Saute the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, mushrooms and season with S&P. Saute until the onions are very tender.

The finished product at the top right corner.

It's even better on the second day!

Ingredients

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, plus more for baking dish

8 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 large onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 pound baby bella mushrooms, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) jars roasted peeled whole chestnuts, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pound day-old ciabatta bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
3 cups canned low-salt chicken broth, plus more if needed
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 2-inch glass baking dish.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel.
2.  Melt the remaining butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, and mushrooms.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Saute until the onions are very tender, about 12 minutes.

3.  In a large bowl, add the sauteed vegetables, the chestnuts, Parmesan, and bread.  Add enough broth to the stuffing mixture to moisten.  Add the cooked pancetta and eggs.  Season the stuffing, to taste, with salt and pepper and add the parsley.  Stir to completely combine all the ingredients.

4.  Transfer the stuffing to the prepared dish. Bake until the stuffing is heated through and the top is golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

xoxo,

miss b.

P.S. Excuse the quality of the last two pics, I was famished by the time I took those pictures.

Movie Review: The Watch

So here I am {the boy}, post-Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping. After having turkey for two meals, suffering from food comas, but not napping and resulting in a Best Drink Ever from Better Buzz Coffee, I am still awake. Plus, I'm pretty excited about coming up on some shoes from the brother, a pair of pants on sale from Sun Diego for Black Friday, and a jacket from Old Navy. All of which may make its appearance on another post or Instagram.

But I digress. The reason for this post is because the girl and I like to share. So what we would like to do is share some movies with you, or at least share our reviews/opinions of movies since we like movies. We'll begin with The Watch. The girl and I will agree on so many points about this movie, she won't have to add much before we publish this post.

His: This isn't the worst movie, but I didn't like it. I would say spoiler alert, but anyone reading this probably wouldn't bother with this movie anyway. It's categorized as comedy & sci-fi, according to IMDB. Comedy, maybe. I got a laugh or two because of Jonah Hill or Richard Ayoade, who you may recognize from The IT Crowd, now THAT's funny. Sci-fi, only because it has aliens in it. I would have never figured Ben Stiller or Vince Vaughn to do some sort of movie with aliens in it, but I guess they were casted for comedic value, if any. Ben Stiller plays Evan, a Costco manager who loves to be in control and make/uphold rules making his character a more serious one. Vince Vaughn plays, well, Vince Vaughn. Actually, he plays Bob, but he is your typical Vince Vaughn character, obnoxious, loud, and crude. To sum it up, these four make up the neighborhood watch in which they end up protecting the city from aliens, which were housed in Evan's Costco and planned to destroy the earth. But the gang prevails. Oh and the twist is **SPOILER ALERT**: Jamarcus, Richard Ayoade, is an alien who turns on his own kind in order to help save the earth.

Verdict: No need to waste 1 hour and 40 minutes, unless you have it to spare. Or maybe just have it on in the background while you do other things. I wouldn't spend any money on it.

Thankful

{source}

For the past two years, I have posted "Thankful" posts on my old blog.  Looking back here and here, life has definitely progressed from those times of unhappiness, despair, and ill disposition.  I still do not have the world at my hands, but I still have the love and support of my family, friends, and mister b.  &&& for that, I am happy and grateful.  In addition, I am also thankful for...

...wisdom: collected over time by bruises, cuts, wounds of the heart, and pride...

...health: in the past few days, I have been reminded to care for it better in order for it to carry me further...

...friendships/relationships: the genuine reciprocity, sincere respect, and overall compassion that reaches new heights with each year...

...life: a never-ending unraveling mystery teaching me, molding me, and making me the person I am today

I hope each one of you has a happy one, filled with delicious food, fabulous conversations, and are in the company of those who matter most.  Remember to reflect, give thanks {not for genocide and land theft}, and remember that the gifts we are blessed with are not to be taken for granted.

xoxo,

miss b.

Our Week According to Instagram

1. I finally upgraded to the iPhone 5 and therefore got to FaceTime with Railey.

2. This was taken at the Apple Store.  Mister B.'s MacBook Pro was making a weird buzzing noise and so we took it to the Genius Bar at Apple and they fixed it by replacing one of the fans.  Phew!

3. I had been craving octopus and oysters for a good while now, so we went and satisfied my cravings at TJ Oyster Bar.  If you haven't been, I highly suggest you go.  Order the oysters, the fish, stingray, and octopus tacos, and aguachile!

4. H Mart, an Asian market, had its grand opening yesterday in my neighborhood and we decided to brave the crowds.  Family size bag of bean sprouts anyone?

5. Exactly one year ago yesterday, mister b. and I took our first trip to Julian for some apple pie from the Julian Pie Company.  This time we tried Moms Pie.  The verdict -- go to Julian Pie Company for their apple pie and peach apple crumb pie and go to Moms Pie for a slice of heaven, aka pecan pie.

6. After Julian, we went to the Viejas Outlet for the Nike Clearance Store.  Seems like San Diego and its surrounding areas have opted out on Thanksgiving decorations and went straight for the Christmas decor.  We're not complaining though.

xoxo,

miss b.

The Happiest 5k on the Planet!

I'd have to concur with The Color Run's catch phrase of it being the happiest 5k on the planet.   I first read about it on Cakies earlier this year and was excited to see that San Diego was going to host its first ever Color Run in November, so that's when we invited the lovely people pictured below to join in the fun!  What sold us on this 5k in addition to the expected fun to be had was that it was a 5k CATERED TO NON-ATHELTIC PEOPLE {we walked the whole damn thing...RIGHT SIDERS FTW!}!  Sure, we look pretty healthy and fit, but let's be real, only two people in the picture below actually work out or have joined a {gym/kickboxing} membership and actually exercise.  The rest of us are either too busy with work or too stressed out with school.  

Be prepared for pictures galore!

Our before picture.

There were two runs in San Diego, a 9:30am and 1:30pm.  &&& due to the high volume of people in attendance, the afternoon race started in waves.

&&& Team Color Me... Wait for it... completed the happiest 5k color happy and injury free!

Note to self for next year: Keep your mouth close {unless you want colored teeth of course} and I don't mean shut up!

They provided a "cleaning station" which just meant standing in front of a leaf blower to remove excess color.  

I'm not sure how the rest of our friends washed away the color off their hair and skin, but Cakies recommends rinsing off the color by taking an ice cold shower.  Mister B. and I took warm showers and tackled each other's body with loofahs {TMI? Oh well!}.  I'm just saying, I found excess patches of color in places I didn't expect.

Anyway... if there's a Color Run coming to a city near you, do it!  We're certainly doing it again next year with fun and quirky ideas in mind to represent our team and so we can be able to identify each other in the masses. 

xoxo,

miss b.

{His} Favorite Things #1: Nike Rosherun

The most comfortable shoe ever {at least on my feet}: Nike Rosherun.  I first saw the Black-Sails on Pinterest and liked them due to their simplicity, but never really thought much about the shoes after.  Days later, I find out my brother had 3 pairs already.  One day, while he was out {sorry brother!}, I tried on one of his shoes.  I was sold, it was like walking on clouds! I typically wear insoles in my shoes, but I don't need them for these.  So I set out for some pairs.  They're pretty much sold out everywhere, so here are a couple pairs that I was able to get.  You can see the original images and the rest of the colorways that I have on my Flickr page. 

The Calypso and Mango roshes prove to be the rarest of the colorways other than the premiums, resulting in being the most sought after.  Calypso seemed to only have been released in Australia and maybe some parts of Asia and didn't seem to have much restock, proving to be the hardest to get.  Mango seemed to have a wider release in Asia and were more common than the Calypso. In order to get these, one had to go through a private seller, auction sites, or by having a contact in said places. If you ever come across a pair, I'd recommend getting yourself a pair, or at least trying them on to convince yourself to pass on these shoes, you won't be disappointed. 

Congratulations 25ers!

Today, I happily attended Cohort 25's pinning ceremony at Green Gables Estate.  It was lovely to see familiar friendly faces and being present to congratulate them on their achievements!  One of my favorite moments was when a fellow student gave a speech and quoted one of my favorites from Conan O'Brien -- "If you work really hard and are kind, amazing things will happen."  I truly believe that.  &&& onto the pictures!

Again, congratulations to everyone and best wishes on all your endeavors!

xoxo,

miss b.

P.S. Please excuse the quality of some of the pictures, these were shared on Facebook and were already edited. :)

P.P.S. I need to get a new point and shoot.