It's Thanksgiving night and all the dishes are done, the food put away, the second round of feeding is over and it's time to relax.  One of the new dishes we tried this year was a Sweet Potato Pudding courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine.  It was delicious...just sweet enough.  One of my "claims to fame" is my ability to reclaim the leftovers for something else.  Before dinner was even over, I had planned and plotted to take the left over sweet potato pudding and use them to make sweet potato pancakes for breakfast in the morning.  While I'm completely stuffed right now, my mind is still (and is always) thinking about the next dish I can make.  I will post the sweet potato pudding recipe in the recipe section, but enough about food for now.  As the night comes to a close it's a really good time to really sit and think about what I'm thankful for.  This year has brought about some changes for me, lots of opportunities and lots of challenges.  I was thinking just a few weeks ago about how I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be at this point in life and my journey through it.  I guess besides the wonderful love of my family and friends, I'm most thankful for the peace that comes with that realization.  Things are good, things can always be better, and they can definitely be worse.  So on this Thanksgiving night, I wish you all that same peace.  Peace to find yourself content and happy, surrounded by family and friends that you love, and who love you in return.  Peace and love to you all.

I am always busy.  Always.  I get accused a lot of not being able to relax (you know who you are...), but I feel like there is always something I could be doing.  My to do list grows on a daily basis, and the best part is, I feel like I'm pretty good at balancing all of it.  Thursday night I got home from Rapid City, after our first snow fall of the year here in Denver.  I stopped at the store because some friends were coming for dinner on Friday night and I was making an entire meal from Carmine's Cookbook (If you don't know, Carmine's is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York City).  After my trip to the store, I broke out the paint cans to finish painting the kitchen wall (for the second time...the color needed to be darker...see the results on the "spaces" page).  Friday morning, I was making meatballs, marinara sauce, sausage stuffing for mushroom caps, croutons and Dan made Tiramisu.  The neighbors could probably smell the garlic wafted from the house!  Dinner was delicious and Saturday morning, I started in on the death defying feat of finishing the wall.  (The wall goes from the ceiling all the way down the basement stairs, so painting it was no easy chore).  Dan made a birthday cake for his sister, Lisa , and I got the wall done!!! (Insert Cheers from the crowd here!)  We went to dinner at Mataam Fez (a surprise to Lisa and a first time for me).  Mataam Fez is a Morrocan restaurant where you sit on the floor, eat with your hands and get entertained with belly dancers.  The food was really good, and I think we decided eating with your hands, actually makes you eat less.  The dinner consists of five courses, Lentil Soup, a salad of various marinated vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, eggplant, carrots, fava beans) all lined up like a cobb salad, a B'Stella, which was the one thing I'm still questioning.  It was a phyllo dough pie, filled with chicken, almonds, egg, and various assorted other things, sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Next came the entree.  For myself, I ordered Hot and Spicy Chicken....delicious!  Final course was a fruit plate.  The place is definitely an experience.  
I neglected to mention dinner a few weeks ago, at Root Down.  If you live in Denver, or ever visit, you HAVE to go.  It's an old gas station, and beyoned the hip funky decor, the food is amazing.  It's just the kind of place I love, small plates which allow you to try several things without having to waddle out the door.  If I could recommend one thing, it is the veggie burger sliders....so freaking delicious.  We also sampled the buffalo sliders, carrot gnocchi, seared scallops and a delicious salad with grapefruit and avocado.  All I can say is GO!  Finally today I'm putting out the November "Inspire" all while thoughts of December are filling my brain.  It's going to be another busy day..... 

My friend (and coworker) Randi got married this weekend, and I had the privilege of making the cake for her and Daryl.  As with everything timing was everything, but I have to say that it pretty much went well with only a few minor hiccups in the preparation.  I got home on Thursday night from St. George, where I had been working since Sunday.  I made raspberry filling, lemon curd and lemon simple syrup.   Friday morning, I was up early preparing the batter, 42 cups in all.  By Friday afternoon, the cakes were baked and I was exhausted.  Not to exhausted to head over Hacienda Colorado for some mahi mahi tacos and a margarita...  The big day came and I was up at 5:30am to get the cakes covered in fondant.    We left the house about 1/2 hour late, but made it just in time to set up the cake and walk down the hall to the ceremony.  It was a beautiful day in Colorado yesterday and perfect to have the wedding outside.  It was a great meal and great fun as well.  Congratulations Randi and Daryl!