Chicken breasts, pan-fried in butter and olive oil, and doused in an addictive, savory, tangy sauce.

I’ve so broken my New Year’s Resolution already. “Two posts a week,” I said. Hah! I haven’t written a post in forever. I won’t mention how long. Poor Nate has had to fill in for my lack by writing all about our trip to Hawaii. In the meantime, he has been discreetly trying to prod me to write some recipes (ie. not nag me to write as I get perverse and even more won’t do it).

It’s not like I haven’t cooked anything new. I’ve just been so busy with work since getting back from our vacation that I have not had time to blog. Well, that’s not entirely true…when I am free, all I want to do is sit in front of the computer and play Zuma Blitz (it’s totally mind-numbing and addictive!).

But today, I decided I had to get going again before I lost all my writing chops. So here I am writing about a dinner I made a while ago and one I have made many times—Chicken Piccata.

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WARNING: this is NOT a cheap cookie!

Ultimate Italian Almond Macaroons

So I had checked out FoodGal Carolyn Jung’s blog right before Christmas last year, when she had posted a recipe for this cookie. She said it was the one cookie that she did every year and she always got requests for the cookie. Her post was so compelling that I went out that week and got myself all I needed to make this cookie.

It was such a simple recipe! It is a little bit messy and gooey when rolling the cookie dough in the slivered almonds but the resulting cookie is a delight—a really yummy, chewy, almond delight. And the smell of the almonds when it’s baking will get you in the holiday mood like nothing else. The fragrance is so amazing!

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All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…

I can’t believe it’s been a whole month since I last posted that the House of Annie is moving to Malaysia.  Since then, our house has been a frenzy of activity, with running multiple garage sales, re-sodding the backyard, selling off almost all of our furniture, and seemingly endless trips to drop off donations at Goodwill.  I have had no time or energy to blog at all!

Well, the movers have come and gone.  All our kitchen supplies and other stuff are in a big box heading to Malaysia.  We’ve turned our keys back to the landlord and now we’re actually living out of our suitcases, staying at our Pastor’s house in these final few days before we fly off as well.

Since we don’t have our kitchen to cook in and our pots, pans and ingredients to cook with, this week has been a whirlwind of eating out with many of our friends. While it has been very nice to spend time with them over a meal without having to fuss over a stove, eating out is taking a toll.  We’ve found ourselves longing for some good, home-cooked food.

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Farfalle with Asparagus, Spinach, Mushrooms and Sausage

I was having a meal with friends a while ago at Pasta Pomodoro. My girlfriend ordered their Penne Portobello and told me it was one of her favorite dishes. I asked for a taste and decided that I could probably make this at home.
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