Christmastime is here!

You know how I know that? Because I seriously just put a million Christmas cards into the hands of our friendly postal worker. It's got to be some kind of record in that the cards were not even in my house for 24 hours. UPS brought them at lunch yesterday and they were gone this morning. I can't take any of the credit for the speedy turnaround; it's all the kids. They have been anticipating the card assembly process for weeks (why, I don't know). So yesterday afternoon I was frantically sorting through Outlook, trying to export a long list of people to a document of labels in Word (yes, I printed labels and trust me, the USPS is thanking me for that one!), during which process I somehow ended up with about ten Word windows open (Dear MS: honestly, printing labels from one of your programs in another one really shouldn't be all that hard, and I'm actually considered to be fairly computer savvy, so if I struggled with it?), but I finally emerged victorious over the process. The assembly line was rockin', too. And if you suddenly realized that you moved this year and didn't give me a new address, I hope the USPS is forwarding your mail. And please do give me your new address because I'd like to know that I can rely on my address book.

Actually, I have really been looking forward to the cards this year as well, because I had fun designing them, and my heart almost melted when I opened the box and saw how well they turned out. It didn't hurt that they have three of the cutest children ever on them.

I was going to make this post the 2009 update post, especially since I've done so badly with that this year, but since I've gone on a crazy ramble already, I'll just post some of the outtakes from our Christmas pictures (note the new dog, Judah). If you already saw these over on my own website, well, then, you saw them.

On Cooking: #3 in 50

I see we should be around day 15 of 50, but alas – it is only day 3. So I’ll just list the new things made in the meantime – delicious things, but things that I got too busy to blog about: rabbit stew with homemade dumplings, sautéed chicken with porcini sauce, broccoli with buerre blanc, braised lentils, the ever-present frittata combos in our house, a sweet potato/Israeli couscous dish I will never repeat, oriecchette with mushrooms, and oven-roasted beef tenderloin (new method for Thanksgiving). That brings us to …

White Chicken Chili. I love this dish, but have never been satisfied with my attempts at it. So I reached for the Jan/07 recipe in Cooks Illustrated (my cooking education and companion). Highly recommended.

As in war and armies, you go to cook with the ingredients you’ve got. I had only boneless/skinless thighs instead of 3# whole breasts (which meant so skin for browning or bones for stock). I also dropped the anaheim/poblano/jalapeno chili combo quantity by 1/3 (after all, I have children to think of) and subbed in 4 tomatillos. Since I was short on chicken I dropped in one length of andouille sausage for that optional kick. After making it a day ahead to blend flavors, I served it with the following toppings: scallions, limes, cilantro, minced jalapeno, and sour cream.

We ate almost the entire pot (plus some cornmeal biscuits). Michael’s response – “woo-hoo-chakalaka-boom-boom!”

love to you all - andy

(cross-posted at Facebook)

On Cooking: #2 in 50

So I am a week late, but here we are. As a reminder, my goal is 50 new recipes over 50 weeks to expand the ol’ home repertoire. Sound easy? try it sometime. Week #2 was Baked Lamb Shanks (also via Cook with Jamie, p. 162). Lamb shanks, sage, thyme, butter, garlic, salt, pepper – all piled on top of finely sliced carrots, onions, and leeks, then wrap in foil, tip in a glass of wine, and cook for 2.5 hours. Witness the raw ingredients:


(props to Ela for taking the picture for her dad: my hands were filthy, and we can work on her focus).

So what was so fun about this recipe:

1) It’s lamb! I love it, but this is the only the second time I cooked it. I couldn’t resist the noise: “what’s this bleating of sheep in my ears?”

2) It’s meat. Ok, I love meat: all the Cornetts do. But we, like most Americans, eat too much of it, so I’ve been cutting down our portions. The two times I’ve cooked meatless, I’ve endured long, mournful glances from the children before one of them gets up the courage to ask, lips trembling, “Dad, what happened to the meat?” Lamb shanks don’t give you a ton of meat, but just enough.

3) It’s the first time I frenched a bone: something I’ve wanted to do, but never really had the excuse. This was fun, and not as hard as I expected.

The end result was delicious: I tucked in with a good will, and I think the others all tried some. But let’s just say it’s not a meal fit for a sweltering August night in south Florida. Think early December, up north, with cold winds outside and steaming potatoes alongside the toasty packages on a platter.

In other cooking news, let me share two recent developments. After a hearty dinner of a homemade Tuscan Bean Stew, Michael pushed back has half-eaten bowl and said: “Dad, can’t we just have canned soup next time? I mean – can’t we just trust Publix?” Oh, Michael – you don’t want to trust canned soups. Second, I have decided that my current guilty pleasure in cooking is pancetta. Expensive? Salty? Fatty? Yes. Delectable? Oh yes. In small amounts – omelettes, pastas, arugula salads, and more – it’s both worthwhile and economical.

Love to you all - andy

(cross-posted at Facebook)

On Cooking: 50 in 50

Some of you know that I love to cook. I’ve tried to analyze why: it’s the creative outlet, it’s the routine, it’s the necessity, it’s the joy of fresh whole ingredients, it’s the satisfaction of doing well at something others enjoy – and yes, it’s because I love to eat.

But lately I feel like I’ve been in a rut. So two things are happening: (1) I’m making a list of new recipes, and (2) Robin signed up so for this 2x/month organic co-op fruit-and-veggie box which will force me to use things outside my normal repertoire (like the fresh globe eggplants I turned into “Operation Grilled Baba Ganoush” last night – don’t think that campaign went over very well).

That means I have a goal of using 50 new workable recipes this year (I cook for my wife and kids, after all!), trying out one new dish in each of the 50 weeks. I’ll keep a running log for you of what I’m cooking, where it’s from, and how it went. It has the added bonus of stretching me to write about something outside my normal zone. And if it helps inspire you in any way about what you put on your table, then so much the better!

Just a teaser from this last week: summertime tagliarini(via Cook with Jamie – a 447-page effort by Jamie Oliver). Think smashed pine nuts, copious olive oil, lemon juice and zest, flat-leaf parseley, parmesan, pecorino, sea salt and pepper, and hot fresh pasta. Killer good.

Love to you all - andy

(cross-posted at facebook.com/AndyCornett)

if you missed hearing it in person...

Andy recently had the unusual opportunity to preach from the pulpit in our sanctuary. I personally thought he did rather a good job (I know I'm biased but I do not think I err). I am not sure how to link directly to the file itself, but the sermon is available online if you would like to listen to it. Here is the link to the online sermons. Currently, Andy's is three down from the top: his sermon was titled "Every Picture Tells a Story".

New Orleans

What can I say? The spring was really busy, and so far, the summer has been, too. I have no other excuse for my neglect. If you are still with me, thanks, and if not, well, I'm sorry.

Andy spent two weeks in Orlando in June to finish out his MDiv. That's right, I said FINISH OUT. He's sitting at the other table working on his last assignment as I write this, and then he'll be done. This spring/summer felt like quite a pile of classes! He came home late one Friday evening, and early the next morning, our whole family, plus my dad, were in our church parking lot and getting ready to drive to New Orleans with 30+ high school students. My first work trip in years.

My work this year was different, though--I was going along as the photographer, not just for our group, but for the whole camp. I feel like I could say a lot about the trip in general but for now I'll just (hopefully) share a slideshow that I put together for the last night of the trip.

Actually, if you have ten minutes instead of five, watch this video first:



Ellison (from Son Servants) showed us this one night so we could get a reminder of what the city looked like in the days following the storm. The music is Bruce Springsteen's "My City of Ruins" and I personally got chills watching it. Katey and Abbie, from the Son Servants summer staff, suggested the Chris Tomlin song "God of this City" for our video, and I really love the juxtaposition.

completely random

Many apologies for neglecting this poor blog for so long. There's really just no excuse for it! The spring around here has just been kind of nonstop busy and I think all I will do here is just share a really random, stream of consciousness kind of list of what's been happening around here:

• Andy is almost done with his master's degree. I feel like he's the Little Engine That Could. "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." He had a class in January, is currently flying to Houston for four Friday/Saturday classes, and will be in Orlando at RTS for his last class. Which is apparently two classes. It's added just a bit of chaos to the spring.
• I've been taking a lot of pictures. It's been fun.
• I've also been a featured photographer for the company which produced my blog theme. Really really fun, although it has resulted in some extra email.
  
• My dad is in Ireland right now. With my uncle.
• Andy planned and executed a major drama/presentation/something with his students in April. It was kind of an exploration of who Jesus is, called The Jesus Journey. Michael had a migraine, so the kids and I left early, but it was well received.
• I dropped my camera last week as I was climbing out of the car after an evening at the beach. The camera was fine, the expensive lens which was attached to it was not. Shipped it off to Canon the next day for repairs. About half of the cost will be covered by my insurance, which is awesome. State Farm has been fabulous and fast.
• I replaced my desktop a month ago and have given my "old" computer to the kids to learn on. The graphics card on it went bad just two days ago. If it had been my primary computer right now I would be freaking out. Thankfully it is even still under warranty and a new card is on its way.
• The line to our icemaker/water dispenser is apparently leaking somewhere under the fridge. And has been for a while. Oh snap.
• The kids and I are all just about ready for school to be done this year.
• We adopted a new puppy from the local humane society just over a month ago. His name is Judah. Oddly enough, it took us about two weeks to realize how closely he resembles Emma. For now. Supposedly he will be rather a large dog. Larger than Emma. So far, he is mostly very sweet, and he loves to be wherever we are, especially if we are in the kitchen (not just for cooking; he also loves to be underfoot when I'm unloading the dishwasher, making an already challenging task slightly dangerous). The only issues we've been having are related to the differences between puppy play (wrestling, jumping, nipping) and children play (squealing, running, squealing). Mostly, though, he is a darling, more or less.
• The kids, my dad, and I are all going with Andy on the high school work trip to New Orleans at the end of June. We are really looking forward to it. (I am going as a photographer/pseudo adult leader; my dad is going because between the two of us, one can be working and one can be with the kids, and therefore we equal one "real" adult.)
• I bought a really cute sundress at Target last week (told you this would be random).
• The kids have been watching Star Wars and Star Wars related shows for way too long. We are about ready to burn it all. And if it's not Star Wars, it's Bionicles. I at least have a frame of reference for Star Wars, but Bionicles? Seriously? Some of us are quite tired of Star Wars and long for the good old days when they were just trying to decide between VeggieTales and "Mommy's video".
• Andy and I are finally watching the last season of Battlestar Galactica. I was avoiding picking it back up for a while, and unfortunately know some of what happened thanks to a spoiler article about something else (but NO I do NOT know yet who the final Cylon is, so please do NOT tell me).

Time to take Judah for a walk and let the kids begin the bedtime/unwinding process. Again, many apologies for the prolonged absence.