busy day
i already know today is going to be a challenge.
✔ we have several rather complicated inpatients, including one admitted overnight
✔ i have [mandatory] meetings/teaching sessions starting at 1 pm and going until 6.
even if we DON’T get any new consults/admissions [doubtful on a monday], i am going to have a very full day. however, i refuse to go in with a negative attitude. first of all, i still prefer a hectic inpatient day to a day running RT-PCRs and other lab shenanigans. second: as challenging as it might seem to me, i know josh’s schedule is 1000x worse on a GOOD day. finally, i can think about the worst possible outcome: i’ll have to finish work up later this evening.
not my favorite, but not the end of the world.
plus, i will be armed with:
✰ an AM workout done before i have to even consider the pager
✰ an intern on our team to help out [although he is on backup call so i will not 100% count on that]
✰ hours [and hours!] of weekend sleep under my belt
✰ a bag packed with lunch + healthy snacks galore
✰ the fact that i am not planning on cooking dinner [i anticipated this craziness and got an amy’s frozen pizza for tonight]
✰ my new[ish] november goal to breathe and remain calm when i hear a certain beeping tone
i will return tomorrow with a report from the front lines!
revolution cooking class
this was SO MUCH FUN! several months ago, revolution offered up a chance to experience their sunday cooking class at half price via livingsocial. it was still a splurge, but i decided to go for it since we love the restaurant and have had a great time at these sorts of events in the past.
it took forever to get things coordinated, but we finally signed up for this weekend’s class on holiday cooking. our friend dana also bought a ticket and joined in on the fun [and also a break from her adorable 1-year-old, who spent the day enjoying some man-to-man time with his dad].
none of us had any idea of what to expect, but i was thinking perhaps they’d give us recipes and offer instructions/tips along the way. i was actually pretty shocked when the head chef [jim anile] strolled in and announced, “i think we’ll do a turkey today.” he was actually pretty adamant against using recipes for the event, emphasizing the importance of technique and creativity instead of just following instructions.
personally, i’m a recipe-lover and rule-follower, but i was AMAZED at how a multi-dish meal just seemed to materialize under his direction.
basically, we were all his sous-chefs, obeying his commands to the best of our abilities and getting some helpful hints along the way depending on what we were working on — for example, i learned a faster and prettier way to dice carrots. here’s josh working on cornbread that eventually became part of the stuffing:
with surgical precision . . .
there was free-flowing wine, beer, and champagne, although i sadly took a rain check. between kitchen tasks, dana and i caught up on all things baby-related.
as a veteran she has lots of good advice!
finally, from what seemed like utter chaos at times, a meal seemed to materialize! we made a roasted turkey over cornbread stuffing [chef jim deboned it — pretty awesome], thyme mashed potatoes, a fantastic butternut squash bisque, a winter greens salad, and a few little extras: an apple-habañero chutney, a cranberry-apple sauce, and a pomegranate-corn salad [i left this one alone because it was laced with cilantro, but it was very pretty].
the spread [and chef jim]:
and then came the best part: we got to EAT IT! the cooking did take quite some time — the class started at 10 and it was after 1 by the time we took our seats [thought it felt like 2 because of the time change]. luckily, there was NO shortage of food . . .
butternut squash bisque: probably my favorite part of the meal
this soup was like fall-flavored velvet. the only problem with not having a recipe is that i’m not sure i could recreate it!
the thanksgiving-esque meal:
mashed potatoes, roasted turkey, cornbread stuffing, salad, cranberry relish, and apple-habañero chutney
this just made me excited to plan our own thanksgiving menu — although we will have to see what good old dr. s has in mind [it will be at his house]. all in all, it was a very enjoyable experience and i’m glad we sprung for the livingsocial deal!
all right, it’s off to the races! ahh monday . . .
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11.6.11
workout: 4.03 in just under 39 — average pace a record-breaking [for these days] 9:42/mi. i think it was because i was in a hurry to finish before the class.
cooking: not really necessary after that 2 pm meal. we scrounged up some leftovers in the fridge — and finished off the leftover salted caramel brownies. it was a delicious day.
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