Our First Christmas Tree!

Last night John and I decorated our first tree together as a married couple. We listened to holiday music and drank hot chocolate while we hung the ornaments. It was so much fun!

Thanksgiving in South Carolina

John and I spent Thanksgiving in South Carolina on my extended family's farm.







One of the highlights of our trip was feeding the cows. Their tongues are much larger in real life than they appear in the pictures!



Richard lauging at a cow that was sniffing out more bread to gobble.







This was the largest Thanksgiving dinner I have ever attended. Believe it or not, I'm related to nearly all these people! I took this picture just before our hay ride to the cow pastures.
Josh tried riding the cows, even if for a split second! I snapped this picture just as the cow bumped him off.








Lizzie and I were really excited to discover a beautiful flowering shrub (we thought it might be peonies, but we're not sure) behind our great grandmother's house.

Me posing near one of the ponds on the farm...

...and John in the same spot.
John with Uncle Jimmy, my grandmother's younger brother...

...and mom with Aunt Dot, my grandmother's younger sister.

Georgie

Here are some recent pics of the sweetest and cutest beagle in the world! John and I are leaving for South Carolina tomorrow for Thanksgiving and while we're gone, Georgie will be staying at Happy Paws. We'll miss you Georgie!

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

I recently found this recipe in the 2009 holiday issue of Cooking Light. I made a few changes to make the salad a little more Cass-a-rific. I substituted the applewood bacon for turkey bacon, romaine lettuce for a blend of butter lettuce and arugula, walnuts for pecans, and added dried berries and blue cheese crumbles.

3/4 lb Brussels sprouts
6 slices turkey bacon (or applewood-smoked)
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 cups butter lettuce
3 cups arugula
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 dried berries (blueberries, cranberries, raisins)
3 Tbsp blue cheese crumbles

Slice the Brussles sprouts into thin cross sections. Set aside. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon to pan and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Reduce heat to medium-low; add vinegar and next 4 ingredients, stirring well to combine. Add Brussels sprouts; cook 1 minute, stirring to coat. Cover and cook 2 minutes. Combine Brussels sprouts mixture and lettuce in a large bowl; toss until well combined. Sprinkle evenly with crumbled bacon, walnuts, berries, and blue cheese. Serve immediately.

Beef Barley Soup

I cut out this recipe from the Houston Chronicle in February of 2000 and just cooked it for the first time this month. It was delicious!

In a soup pot over medium heat saute:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic

Drain off fat and add:
6 cups beef stock
1/2 cup uncooked barley


Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add:
1/2 cup diced turnip
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced peeled potato
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2-3 dashes black pepper

Stir to blend. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Season with salt and serve with crusty bread.

Dinner at David Salle's in Honor of Karole Armitage

A few weeks ago, John and I were invited to a Karole Armitage dance performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and then a dinner in her honor at the home of artist David Salle. It was pretty exciting for me considering David Salle was one of my art heros when I was in graduate school. Dinner was served in his studio which was very cool. It was also our first night out as Mr. and Mrs. John Newsom which was very exciting!

Margaret and Richard seated in front of one of David's paintings.

John and David Salle.

David saying a few words to the guests before dinner.

While talking to his neighbor, Barbara, at dinner, John discovered that she is the mother of the actress who played Janice on "Friends"!

The guest of honor, Karole Armitage.

Life is Newsom-rific!

We're married! We said our "I do's" on October 24 and we have been blissfully happy ever since.

After our wedding, we took an amazing honeymoon cruise through the Caribbean visiting Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

Now we're back in New York and getting into our daily routine. I'm excited about getting back to the blog after a well deserved break. I've been cooking up a storm the last few weeks so starting tomorrow, I'll be posting some new recipes from the Newsom kitchen.