Une Belle Nuit

Thank you Jenny for kick starting me out of my haze of procrastination, all week I have been staring at my camera thinking I should really upload those pictures but never fully having enough motivation to do so hence I’ve been a very bad blogger.

Jenny did indeed out do herself with the Beef Bourguignon, it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious, she out did herself on the whole night actually, to the subtle décor, the music and the indulgent French butter slathered on perfect slices of baguette. Bravo Jenny, bravo!

Salad with proscuitto, fennel and pomegranate seeds and the BEEF!

La Belle Patate

My contribution was the French style accordion potatoes, possibly one of the easiest potatoe dishes. Simply pick out some lovely little new potatoes, slice them down one side (but not all the way through) stuff and slather them with garlic, olive oil, and your favorite fresh and/or dry herbs and then bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 45 minutes (depending on their size). As they cook they begin to open up and by the time they are done they have fanned out like and accordion.

Girl talk and the decadent cheese course

xo J

Bon Appetit! aka Julia Child is In-flippin-credible

Hey Amis!

Sorry for the content drought on Amis Are We this past week. Life has kicked into high gear but that's no excuse to leave ya hanging! We will do better, I promise!

What have we been up to? Well lots, but me personally I spent a good 7 hours last Friday night making Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon recipe for a french themed dinner party. It was intense!

See my guy had the boys over to his place for poker on Saturday, so obviously we ladies needed to take advantage of that and have a girly night. After some discussion, we hit on the party being french themed, you know because us ladies love the french stuff, but the boys in our life, yah not so much.

Anyhoodle back to the Beef! Well this was my first Julia Child recipe, and yipes, intense is truly the word to describe it. Just reading the detail of her recipes you see instantly her passion bordering on obsession with food. Every part of the recipe is built to maximize flavour. You pat each cube of beef dry so it sears nicely before braising, while the beef is braising, you cook the mushrooms and onions separately so that they don't fall apart in the stew. (Sidebar: hand peeling the skin off of pearl onions - also intense!)

Although the process did take a long time, there is a reason why Julia's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is the tour-de-force of cook books - this lady knows her stuff! After resting overnight,  the beef was fall apart delicious. Us 9 ladies dug into that pot of beefy goodness with ardour, leaving just a wee ladle full as proof that it was even there.

I was so wrapped up in the cooking and serving (and eating) that I barely remembered to photograph this endeavour. So here it is, the one shot I snapped over the whole process. Luckily Jessy did take more pics, so I'll leave any expanding on the party in her capable hands.

Seen here is the beef, petit pois avec lardons (peas and bacon), and Jessy's accordion potatoes.
Delish!

Hmmmm maybe I should encourage more poker nights :)

xo
Jenny C

Merry Ho Ho Ho!

Just a quick note before we all enter into a food, booze and all over good time coma, I hope everyone has an aamazing holiday. Thank you all for checking in with us Amis, we are still learning the ins and outs of the blog world but really we just like to share our thoughts, ideas and inspirations with you and we hope you enjoy them. Cheers to you and yours!

mmmm....eggnog and rum

Sophie, waiting for me to turn around so she can attack the tree decorations

xo J

A Cup Of Cheer

With the holidays in full swing and Christmas around the corner - there's a lot of get-togethers and a lot of raising glasses. If you're hosting a party and want to inject some winter wonderland into your bevies Serious Eats has some great ideas, here's some that I think look particularly drinkable:

Eggnog - the real stuff, made with good ol eggs. I made this boozy version yesterday with my family - it was delicious! I'm not squeamish about raw eggs because my grandma had me drink the yolks beaten with sugar as a child (it was good!). Anyhoodle, if you're feeling brave and aren't pregnant or have auto-immune issues, try it! Recipe and image via Serious Eats.

DIY Spiced Rum If you like mulling wine, try kicking it up to the next level by mulling regular rum into a spicy warm cocktail.

Holiday Punch Similar to the spiced rum above, this recipe uses warm spices like cloves and cinnamon to amp up apple cider and rum. Great for a big party, and an extra wow if you flambe it.

The Chocolate Velvet This drink had me at its name. It's a seemingly bizarre combo of chocolate stout beer and bubbly with a hint of orange. I'm intrigued. Scared but intrigued.

Hot Buttered Mai Tai Ok now you're speaking my language. Y'all know I love mai tais and this recipe makes them a little more wintery. Bartender - a round of doubles please!

Moral of the story - winter is here, so why not share some good cheer indoors with your friends and family. Get out those jiggers and have fun!

Flying Solo - Week Eighteen

Bonjour Mes Amis!

Sorry for the radio silence from me last week - it was my birthday and that filled my time with sweet parties avec friends and family as well as some serious contemplating about where I'm at in my life. I've always been a bit grandiose about what being a "success" is, so with my voice biz staying pretty quiet through November, that contemplating wasn't always super fun. Have you ever had some of those days?

Well despite some moments of "yipes I should be busier, richer, smarter, prettier, faster, bulletproof, etc?" - you know, realistic not overally-dramatic stuff (wink, wink)  overall the week ended on the plus side. I ended up sharing 3 birthday cakes with my family - I bought one, my dad bought one, and my guy's mom made me one, my guy and I split a bottle of wine and some delicious pizza (life can't be bad with pizza), I got to watch my friend and her hubby baptize their new little daughter and the amis and I hit up the Waldorf for another Tiki night of fun.

As I stood in the Tiki bar or, more accurately, mildly wobbled with a mai tai in hand, looking down the the long table of friends chatting away, I had a Tiny Tim moment. God bless us everyone? Well, yes. And also, I'm one lucky chica to have so many awesome people to count as family and friends.

So this week if you feel the world getting you down with its push saying maybe you're not "enough" - think of all the people that love you, and tell the world where to shove it, nicely.

Have a great week - big love to y'all!
xo

ps. Thank you for all your calls, emails, texts, hugs n b-day love!! I love you more than there's words to say.

Manic Monday

After a busy Monday lets just have a quick reflection on the more relaxing aspects of my weekend...long, lazy, delicious dinners.

Not only did I celebrate Thanksgiving on behalf of my American heritage and fully enjoyed all the usual dishes that accompany the holiday, but I also had a wonderful fall meal with some of my best amis.

Sirloin with red wine and shallot sauce, cheesy risotto and roasted vegetables, with Chocolate Apple Rum cake for dessert. After all that gluttony I am feeling rather sleepy today, and to think, it is only the start of the holiday season! I'm in trouble!

Flying Solo - Week Seventeen

Happy Friday mes amis!

This week I thought I'd wrap things up with a visual display of how I've been spending my Wednesdays. For the past 3 weeks my parents and I have been baking cookies... LOTS of cookies.

Admittedly one of the best parts of not working a regular 9-5 job is the freedom to do stuff like this. We've made some great headway on the "Fill the Freezer with Cookies 2010" campaign. It may look like a lot (and ok it is) but guaranteed they will be gone before New Year's Eve! Here's some of the highlights so far:

Taralli with their sugar dusting

Pizelle in the iron

Fruits of Patience

Taralli's yummy filling - grape reduction, chocolate and nuts

Fill that Freezer!

Nallah's full just thinking about all these cookies

Have a great weekend everyone!
Spend some quality time with the people you love!
xo

Holiday Wish List

A couple people (i.e. my sister) have been bugging me for ideas for birthday and holiday gifts for me. Apparently I'm "hard to shop for". Do you get that too?

Firstly let me state openly and truly - no gifts are necessary! But if you feel super compelled, and just to make it easier on the people I love - I declare this year The Year of the Gift Cards!

I could use some pretty tops - but instead of fretting over the shelves a g.c. to Aritizia or Plenty would hit the spot! (Pictured tops above are all from Aritizia)

My must read book list is growing too - again a g.c. to Chapters or Amazon.com is another simple winner that I'd put to good use.

Gifts are fun but mostly I love the time we all get to spend together around the holidays. Don't fret, keep it simple and thanks for the thought!

PS What's on your wish list this year?

Tropical Room Retro Vibe

A taste of the tropical vibe in the Waldorf Tiki Bar

A delicious bite of Queso Fundido (melted cheesy yumminess)

The newly renovated Waldorf Hotel in Vancouver is a place you must check out. If you have love for good food, tastefully kitschy decor and great old school lounge music you will not be disappointed!

The ideal place for a party - you can go to the Waldorf for drinks, dinner and then check out one or more of their live music/club rooms downstairs - all in one non-pretenious locale.

In fact, my guy and I loved the place so much, I think we're both going to celebrate our birthdays there!

If you do have a chance to go, our favorite spot was the Tiki Bar. It has an instantly great energy thanks to the authentic decor, much dating back to the mid 1950s, and a warm retrofitted sound system. The night we were there the Waldorf folks were spinning retro lounge music records and it was fantastic.

Add in more than one's fair share of killer mai tai's & have yourself a great night!

Splendiferous Sweet Potato Bourbon Bundt Cake or I Am Thankful for Maple Syrup

Bundt cake dripping with sweet bourbon syrup - heaven!

As Jessy mentioned yesterday Friends Thanksgiving on Saturday was awesome. There was a lot of love in the room and a feast of fabulous food. We shared guilty pleasures that we're thankful for, so I randomly said I am thankful for maple syrup. Some people laughed but think about... aren't you too? :)

But I digress.

Sweet Potatoes in a cake. Go with me here peeps - this cake tastes like warm and spicy autumn happiness. Take an afternoon, put on your favourite CD (my mom and I rocked out to Neil Diamond) and enjoy the process.

The recipe I followed is taken from Martha Stewart's site - click here for the cake recipe, and here for the bourbon syrup recipe. What can I say, I'm feeling like a lazy typer this morning - plus there's a cute video of Bundt master Dorothy Dalquist when you follow the link that's helpful too. After you print out the recipe - come back to this post because....

Here's my secret tweaks:

Numero Uno: Use a smaller bundt pan. The recipe calls for a 10-12 cup bundt pan. I have a 6 cup one, so I only put three-quaters of the batter in hoping to avoid over-flowing. Nope. Could've used the whole batter in the 6 cup bundt pan. Ah well bake and learn.

Numero Dos: Having an extra bit of batter led to unexpected awesomeness in the form of sweet potato bourbon cupcakes. Delicious! Note on baking time: these only take about 25-30 minutes to bake. Poke with a raw spaghetti noodle roughly 20 minutes in and see if it comes out clean. Keep checking till your happy.

Numero Tres: Pumpkin spice. The recipe calls for it, I didn't have it. So - improvise! I used 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp cloves.

Numero Four: I used brown sugar in the bourbon syrup - which ended up tasting really maple syrupy. (As aforementioned, that's a good thing) It also gave the syrup a great caramel colour.

Numero Five: I didn't do this, but thought of it later to make things even more over the top... warm up the extra bourbon syrup a bit before serving. Mmmm

Happy Baking!!

I'm thankful for sprouts...even if you aren't!

So I realize that brussel sprouts are not loved by all but I believe I have converted many with my sprouts so there is hope for you yet. The key is…LOTS OF BACON! To me having brussel sprouts signifies that it is officially fall .

At our annual Thanksgiving dinner with my big group of amis I made my signature sprouts.

First, trim off the ends of the sprouts and cut a slight X into the base with a knife, as this is the toughest part of the sprout these cuts will help it cook faster (or so I have been told)

Toss sprouts in olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic and lemon juice. Wrap in tin foil and roast in a 350 degree oven for approximately 45 -50 minutes for average size sprouts.

While sprouts are roasting sauté chopped white onion until translucent, remove from pan and then sauté chopped bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from pan and place on paper towel to get rid of excess grease. Once sprouts are tender remove from oven and lightly sauté in pan with cooked onion, bacon and butter.

The lovely Jenny C enjoying all the good grub.

The entire dinner was beyond delicious and I am thankful for all my beautiful, talented and loving amis!

Flying Solo - Week Ten

Holy Frijoles - ten weeks of writing the "flying solo" posts. Dang!

Bonjour mes amis!

Another Friday is upon us and yes, us Canadians are ready to celebrate Thanksgiving on Monday. So while "Flying Solo" is supposed to look back on the week past, it's very difficult to ignore all the yumminess and extra time with loved ones coming up this weekend.

Let's address the past week quickly so we can get back to turkey talk. This week I had 2 auditions for 2 great animated projects. I sent in my first auditions from home (there's something to be thankful for!). And my engineer friend weighed in and said my home studio sounds great. Woo hoo!

I can talk more about business, but who am I kidding - I really want to get back to Thanksgiving!

Every year our friends gather to celebrate Thanksgiving together (usually a week or so after the official day). It is one of my most cherished dinner with friends all year. We usually go around the table and say something that we're thankful for. I love this Thanksgiving tradition. What are your favourite Thanksgiving traditions?

This year "Friends Thanksgiving" will be celebrated on October 16th, so stay tuned for more photos, recipes and warm fuzzy thoughts on it!

If you're looking for dessert options for Thanksgiving or Autumn in general, the photo above is a Honey Crisp Apple Cake from Serious Eats, and there is a virtual "horn of plenty" of Thanksgiving desserts on MarthaStewart.com as well.

Have a great weekend everyone! Take a moment to share some gratitude!

xo

Flying Solo - Week Three

Whew! Another week bites the dust & happily this one ends on a high note!

It was a bit of a dodgy beginning as the week began with super high humidity here in Vancity - meaning that my night owl tendencies took over. Holla to you my fellow night owls - hoot hoot! (Yes I did just make that joke.) I was up half the night, and half dead during the day. Boo! BUT my late nights, major procrastinations (online tv - why do you tempt me so!) and some general loneliness from hanging solo most of the time were far outweighed by some AWESOME highs.

A friend shared the BEST NEWS EVAH!!! (It is not my place to tell...but a wee hint is that the friend in question is Sonia our 3rd amis, and it has rightfully delayed her intro post, but man are you gonna love her post when you read it!)

Personally I had a wicked session at the Ocean/IPP studio this week, recording for a legendary Anime cartoon. My character must have gone through every conceivable situation - I had to sing (!!), play myself as a child, kill a demon, get possessed and die...twice. Talk about an emotional workout! I loved it though and send much love to you peeps at Ocean - I heart you!!

Other proud moments: I booked the studio for my upcoming voice class! Dates are gonna be Thursday nights 8pm - 10pm October 7, 14, 21, 28. Then today at 5pm I got called in for two more auditions on Monday. WOO HOO - here's to riding momentum!

So what's the weekend got going on? Well tomorrow is opening day of the PNE a giant fair that takes place during the last 2 weeks of summer. Since they're celebrating 100 years of the fair, the PNE is pulling out some big guns - especially with their concert series. The amis and I are checking out the kick off concert tomorrow with headliners Brian Adams and The Beach Boys! As the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten would say: "How bad can that be?" I'll have to explain my affinity for the Beach Boys another time. As for tomorrow, me and the peeps will try to snag some wicked photos to share with y'all.

Ok time to cut ya loose- go enjoy your weekend! You earned it!

Mucho love,
Jenny C

Introducing - The Amis!

"Amis" = "Friends" in French.

"Amis Are We" is a fun way of saying we are friends. And it rhymes. Bonus!

So who's behind Amis Are We?

Well there's 3 amis writing this blog: Jessy, Sonia & me, Jenny C. We met over a hopscotch game on the first day of Grade 1, and have been friends ever since. The 3 of us are part of a large group of girlfriends, about 13 ladies in total, that have been pals since we were kids.

This blog is our way of sharing the things we love, what inspires us and where life is taking us, all in one.

And we want to hear your answers to those questions too!

So this week we'll each be introducing ourselves a little more to you. And we'd love to hear back - what do you love? What's inspiring you right now? What can't you live without? What's your next big adventure?