Christy Update/recipes

[Christy]

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to say hi since I haven't been on lately. I recently moved in with boyfriend Joe (Gus and Michelle got to meet him in NY) and I've been teaching myself to cook! I honestly can't believe how easy it is and how great my dinners have turned out. I'm a big fan of the McCormick spice kits like Rosemary Roasted Chicken that you make in the oven. I've also been making homemade pizza. I buy the dough, and they even offer whole wheat, and you just stretch it out on a cookie sheet, bake and then add the toppings. One day I'm going to try a pizza stone though.

My next purchase is going to be cast iron skillet/grill pan since you can cook steak and other meat on it and it gets the grill marks on it and then you finish it off in the oven. Most people who don't have a charcoal grill do this and rave about it.

I'm also going to school so I can teach elementary school k-5, and working in real estate in Hoboken when friends need to rent or buy. I had a great summer but even though I went to the beach in the Hamptons and the Jersey Shore I couldn't go in the water because it's still so cold compared to Miami. There really is nothing like the beach in Miami except maybe a Caribbean island. I really want to come visit everyone soon!

[Jess]

Hi Christy, so good to hear your updates!

Congrats on the cooking. It's been a long time since we ordered Planet Sushi and Juice and Java every night.

I hope school goes well, you'll be good at that job. But keep writing at 411 from time to time with your new adventures!

[Gus]

Hi, Christy. Great to hear from you. Thanks for the update. Happy things are going so well for you. Joe is a super cool guy.

Are you still planning to visit Miami in October? If the water is warm enough, we can go down to Key Largo and take another snorkel trip.

[swaps522]

Congrats Christy on your pre-nuptial nesting. I have been cooking for past 15 years since wife had an illness. She is mostly recovered, except for the TV remote stuck to her right hand. Yes, you need a cast iron skillet, asap, cause it takes a few years to break it in. Sear steaks or braise roasts - faster you clean it, the easier it will be, except no comet or brillo. Treat it gently. Also, a Wok is a wonderful, easy cooking tool. Some tips; dont buy can of beef broth - keep a couple of soup bones in freezer, and when you braise a roast or beef short ribs, boil the hell out of a soup bone day before with a few veggies. Cooking Illustrated is one of the best magazines on the subject. Always add liquid halfway up the roast and add as necessary. hope this helps - sid morris in miami.

[fredgarvin]

U Go Christy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jess]

When I moved in with my man, he became the one who cooks. I got lucky! Although I'd really like to learn.

Hopefully we will see you soon down in sunny Miami.

[MiamiFlorida]

Jersey Shore is Seaside Heights, am right? Congrats for the school teaching job but what do you teach at elementary school?

[GandJ]

Jersey Shore is Seaside Heights, am right? Congrats for the school teaching job but what do you teach at elementary school?

The Jersey shore isn't a particular town. The Jersey shore can be anywhere along ... well ...... the Jersey shore. .... From Sandy Hook to Cape May.


Glenn

[GandJ]

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to say hi since I haven't been on lately. I recently moved in with boyfriend Joe (Gus and Michelle got to meet him in NY) and I've been teaching myself to cook! I honestly can't believe how easy it is and how great my dinners have turned out. I'm a big fan of the McCormick spice kits like Rosemary Roasted Chicken that you make in the oven. I've also been making homemade pizza. I buy the dough, and they even offer whole wheat, and you just stretch it out on a cookie sheet, bake and then add the toppings. One day I'm going to try a pizza stone though.

My next purchase is going to be cast iron skillet/grill pan since you can cook steak and other meat on it and it gets the grill marks on it and then you finish it off in the oven. Most people who don't have a charcoal grill do this and rave about it.

I'm also going to school so I can teach elementary school k-5, and working in real estate in Hoboken when friends need to rent or buy. I had a great summer but even though I went to the beach in the Hamptons and the Jersey Shore I couldn't go in the water because it's still so cold compared to Miami. There really is nothing like the beach in Miami except maybe a Caribbean island. I really want to come visit everyone soon!

Christy -

Congratualtions on your move and your teaching and cooking endeavors. Cooking can be fun. I'm the cook at our house, and love trying to create different dishes. Janet is a patient sampler of my creations, putting up with some real questionable ones to get to the good ones.


Glenn

[Blackford Oakes]

Sounds great. Best of luck.

[Matt Meltzer]

SUNGAL!!! Where'd you crawl out from.

Glad to hear all is well. Keep up the good cooking, let me know if you need any recipes. I was messing around with my grill in Gus and Michelle's back yard the other day and made some pretty cool burgers. Great for summer!!

[Christy]

It is fun! I like the recipes on eatingwell.com and then I check out the foodnetwork. I really love cooking now..the only negative is the cleanup. I got my cast iron skillet/grill pan and you could kill someone with it, it's so heavy. If anyone has any good recipes that involve cooking meat on that let me know..

I did go to seaside heights at the Jersey Shore a few times this summer...but only bc my boyfriend's parents live close to it and it's the quickest drive for the boardwalk. I really fell in love with the Hamptons in NY. It's the total opposite of the Jersey Shore.

MiamiFlorida, I'm going to school to get a degree so I can teach elementary school. It's a 2 year program but hopefully it's worth it and I'll have my own classroom one day-hopefully Kindergarten or 1st grade.

[dylan]

Good to hear that all is well. I am the cook in my apartment, relationship and it is fun to experiment and make a dish for someone else. It is even better when they agree to do the dishes afterward.

[Matt Meltzer]

Dishwashers and garbage disposals are the key to cooking at home. Without them the cleanup just isn't worth it.

[dylan]

I have used dish washers before but never had the luxury of garbage disposals. Do those require cleanup or maintenance?

[Matt Meltzer]

Not really. Sharpen the blades with eggshells occasionally. And when they run down sometimes you have to have people come fix them. Past that, I haven't seen much.

[rk]

Hi Christy, great update. Best wishes for your new career. Teaching is a noble profession, and of course k-5 the most important. What has Ginger been doing? We need pictures.

[Sorry]

Hey Christy, I don't feel so alone anymore. I'm actually moving to hoboken at the end of this year and will be looking for a place. While Miami has been a great place to live, hoboken will always be home for me, growing up nearby and such, along with most my family within 15-20 minutes away. I just got approval to move and work remote from up there. I'd saddened I never got to meet the majority of the forum people, and it seems that life just got crazy busy while here. I must say all the complaints about Miami...every where has it's ups and downs and I've loved almost every minute here.

[Matt Meltzer]

Hit us up next time you're in town, Sorry. Maybe we'll be having a meetup.

[dylan]

Sorry you said "things just got crazy down here." That is Miami at it's finest everything is a rush and a little crazy. I do not know many people I would consider Miamians that would not say this city is a little Crazy. I still have to meet many of the forum members as well if all works out hopefully we can both make it to the next meet up. Hope you have a smooth move/transition.