DRE's Blog

Creamed Corn and Poblanos

2010-06-20T11:44:25-04:00

I keep coming back to this simple side dish because it is delicious with a steak! It is creamy and has a hint of a kick from the poblanos.

Creamed Corn and Poblanos

2 poblano chiles
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
1 cup sour cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or under a broiler, turning, until charred all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 minutes. Peel, core and seed the chiles, then cut them into thin strips.

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the corn and poblano strips and cook until the corn is tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Keep the corn warm over very low heat.

November 10 - Coral Bark Japanese Maple Installed

2006-11-16T02:34:08-04:00

The roses are planted, the edgers keep growing as is the drip irrigation and the cords for the lights. However, the best part is that the coral bark Japanese maple is now planted! It looks fabulous! Check it out! :)

November 9 - Picking the Japanese Maple for the Front

2006-11-16T02:30:33-04:00

Today was exciting because I met Robert from Dirt Tech and his crew at the house in the early afternoon. From there, I followed them OTP (outside the Perimeter) to Skinner Nursery, a wholesale nursery in Marietta (pic below). There, Robert convinced Garrick Lewis to help me pick out a nice Japanese maple for the front yard on the left side of the door. Garrick was extremely helpful, professional, and patient. I finally picked a coral bark Japanese maple. Just like the name hints, the bark will get very bright red when the tree loses its leaves in winter. Of course, big bark such as that on the stump will appear and remain grey. With a grey house and a red door, this sounds great! The price was also very good, and the tree has so much new growth. However, it is true that the coral bark Japanese maples are upright in form and could grow to 12 feet or more but they can be trimmed and trained in the spring after the new growth has already sprung. Simply put, I am so pleased with the purchase, and I cannot wait until Robert brings it to the house tomorrow!

November 7 - Moving Right Along

2006-11-16T02:27:38-04:00

The planting of Compactas (similar to boxwood but less expensive, faster growing, and smaller leaves) and some gold mops in the front yard are almost complete. Also, the first edgers have been installed. I think it looks great!

November 6 - Rainy Day Does Not Stop the Show

2006-11-16T02:25:40-04:00

It rained all day today, but Robert from Dirt Tech and his crew got a lot of work done today! Check out the pics! They removed all of the existing plants to the left of the front door as well as the plants behind the flower bed. They also carved out the dirt from around the flower bed. The flower bed had extended at least six inches into the walkway and driveway.

November 5 - Don't Forget the Front Yard!

2006-11-16T02:18:43-04:00

After all of the beautiful work on the backyard, the front yard looked shabbier than ever. Robert from Dirt Tech took on the job of doing the following:

Remove the existing plants with the exception of the Japanese maple, the crepe myrtle, and the flower bed

Remove the rock garden

Plant with new, easy-to-care-for plants that will look good year-round

Install three lights and connect to the light system from the back yard

Install a drip irrigation system with a separate controller than the backyard

Install edgers in Brick Red around the beds

Here are some "BEFORE" pics of the front yard for comparison purposes.

Appetizers

2006-09-17T20:35:01-04:00

For Sunday football, Shawn and I made some yummy and fresh snacks. We had delicious black seedless grapes, black mission figs with goat cheese and honey, prosciutto and melon, and cheese with toasts.

Roland Visits Atlanta

2006-09-17T20:28:32-04:00

After almost fifteen years, my friend from Austria, Roland, was flying through Atlanta, and we met up for dinner with JB and Shawn at Chops / Lobster Bar. It was so great to see him and to compare ourselves to a few old pictures from a trip to Disney years ago. I hope that he calls next time he passes through.

Pecan Heath Bar Tassies

2006-09-17T20:20:02-04:00

The refrigerated pie crust is really great. I can see using it to make other individual desserts. This recipe is quite good, but would be better with almond brickle. The problem is finding almond brickle.

Pecan Heath Bar Tassies

1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 (10-ounce) package Heath Bar chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll the piecrusts onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into 2 (15-inch) circles. Cut out 48 circles using a 1 3/4-inch fluted or round cookie cutter, re-rolling dough as needed. Place in 1 3/4-inch muffin pans, pressing on the bottoms and up the sides of each of the mini-muffin cups. Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, and eggs in a large bowl, mixing well. Add the vanilla. Stir in the pecans and brickle chips. Spoon the pecan filling evenly into the pie shells. Bake for 25 minutes, or until filling is set and crust is lightly browned. Cool in pans on wire racks.

Shawn Is the Champion!

2006-09-17T20:14:34-04:00

Our week of vacation was otherwise uneventful. I spent five days of it in bed with a cold, which I had brought back from Germany, and Shawn prepared for and worried about the two-day club championship at Bradshaw Farm. And guess what? He won in the Men's B-flight! I am so proud of him!

New Grill

2006-09-17T20:10:52-04:00

Shawn bought us a beautiful new grill for the new patio! It is all stainless steel, and it has a side burner, so that we can cook corn outside while we are grilling! So awesome! :)

Day Twenty-Five

2006-08-11T18:50:11-04:00

Cornerstone Wall Systems have finished power-washing the driveway and cleaning up! The patio ended up being about 1000 square feet, which was 700 square feet smaller than originally estimated. This morning, I went out and bought a huge iron pot to sit on top of the hole. Now, I need to contact the fence guy and the landscaper. In other words, a significant part of the project is complete, but now there is so much more to do before we can have the party!!! What do you think so far?

Day Twenty-Two

2006-08-08T18:39:53-04:00

After removing some of the pavers, which were a different size and color (but that's another story over cocktails), you can really start to see the patio! The area at the far side is now complete including the soldier border, and the stairs from the driveway up to the patio and the hole around the sewer cap are under construction. The machine in the pic below is used to pound and shake the sand into the grooves between the pavers. This is the final step in the process, and that is why there is grey sand all over the patio.

Day Twenty-One

2006-08-07T18:33:01-04:00

The pavers are coming along! It is quite exciting! They are placed by hand by another crew from Cornerstone Wall Systems; the crew is Brazilian. Interestingly, they started in the middle and are working their way out to the edges. Once they place the pavers, then they will trim them all at once for the soldier border edge.

Hierloom Tomato Salad

2006-08-06T18:16:09-04:00

I just thought the loyal blog-readership would enjoy checking out the hierloom tomatoes that Mom and I bought at the Morningside Farmer's Market a couple of days ago. I stacked them up with slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella and covered them with my homemade salad dressing. My mouth is watering again just by looking at the pic! :)