Oh, hey, I said I'd post the coquilles saint-jacques recipe, and I totally forgot.  Here it is, loosely interpreted from The New Legal Sea Foods Cookbook.  (As in, this is what I did, but I make no claims that it will turn out like it's traditionally served, because I have never actually eaten this dish prepared by anyone but me.)

3 tablespoons of butter, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1/3 cup seeded, diced tomato
2 pounds sea scallops, halved
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons flour
about a cup of cream or half&half
1/4 cup grated parm
salt & fresh ground pepper
cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

• Cook the onions in 1 tablespoon of butter.  Stir in the tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes. 
• Add the scallops and the wine.  Cover the pan, lower the heat, and simmer for about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.
• In another pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter, and stir in the flour, cooking over low for about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cream or half&half  and cook over medium low until the sauce is thick.  
• Stir the cream mixture into the scallops mixture and add half of the parm, salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.  
• I cooked this in my big Le Creuset dutch oven, so instead of pouring the mixture into a buttered baking dish like the original recipe says, I just sprinkled the remaining cheese over top, chucked the whole thing in the oven for about ten minutes and served it in bowls with the parsley and some super crusty bread

This looks much brighter than real life.

This is closer to the right color.

View from the sidewalk

We've picked a bunch of things based on keeping the addition consistent with the rest of the house, so the red siding kind of made sense.  In some cases, we were able to pick some elements that are both consistent with the house now, and consistent with what the house was like when it was built.  (This is hard, because the house was built in 1924.) Unfortunately, money and time are always problems, so we get plain double-four siding instead of the faux cedar shake that I would have liked.  (Though I saw that on our local eat & park restaurant, and it looked kinda bad, so I think I am happy with the double-four.  Also, if I knew more about what double four meant besides "each board thingy has 2 - four inch horizontal, er, bits, I would tell you, but I totally don't.)

We got windows that look like three over one paned, because that's what the original windows in the house were. There are a few left in the house, and lots of our neighbors have them.  (The previous owners replaced some with those grid-like mullions, which are fine, but don't really have the same feeling as the three over one.)  We also got a solid wood front door with nice, straight angles.  It's hard to know, but I suspect the original door would have been something similar.

We're not trying to recreate the house as it was in 1924, but rather to pick elements that seem right in the house, while not giving up modern conveniences.  (For example, the three over one windows are modern flat easy to clean double hung windows that look paned and not all wood single paned. )

I am really digging the mock-clerestory windows on the side of the house pictured, by the way.  I think they are secretly transoms for over a door, but I really wanted three high windows there (to bring in light but avoid having a view of the neighbors back yard), and those are what fit.  Thank you father-in-law-contractor for thinking of that!

Yay Progress!

Now it's tie to watch frosty with the little one.

Fridge and left side of dining room

Right side of dining room

So, our dining room is full of the cabinets, which we are not yet ready for, and the fridge, which needed to be replaced and does not fit in our existing, teeny kitchen. (Hence, the big kitchen project. We did not want to replace the fridge with another small one that fit in the little kitchen when we are like months away from a new kitchen.) This means, there is really no room for a Christmas Tree, because it really only fits in the dining room.

See the pictures of all the boxes. On both sides of the room! I told a friend that the were oppressive reminders of the enormous expense and my unrealized dreams. I was morose that day.

In any case, I got a head cold this weekend, and my husband took pity on me and brought me home a teeny little fiber optic tree. Adorable! Our ornaments are packed up, and not really the right size, so my son and I made some ornaments out of paper and ribbon. Husband and son put them up, and now we have a Christmas tree decorated with homemade ornaments.

Tree!

See? We're awesome!!! Handmade Holidays, baby! Even though we are mid remodel, busy at our jobs, and sick. I feel so accomplished!

(Yes, I do realize that all I did is punch paper and tie ribbons. I'm on cold meds. Let me have my gleeful success feeling until I'm back to normal.)

Paper & Ribbon!

As I've mentioned here zillions of times before, I am kind of obsessive about researching and worrying about things we might buy.

The new thing I am obsessing about lately is what range to get.

First off, I have kind of wanted a slide in, white range with a ceramic top because I have this idea that it's easy to clean.  Kind of like this:  (Bear with me, I am trying this amazon link thing for the first time.)



Anyway, now I am starting to freak out for a few reasons:

1. Does a slide in need to have some kind of notch taken out on the countertop?  Do I need to have the range before I get the countertop?  Cause I was planning on just using my old gas one for a while and then replacing it later.  
2. I am moving from gas to electric.  I have never cooked on an electric stove, but I also detest cleaning my gas stove.  I have never had a gas stove that I felt came completely, spotlessly clean.  That may be commentary on my skill as a housekeeper (yeah, I'm no good in that department), but I also don't want to spend a thousand bucks on something that I ultimately don't like

Monday December 13th is Giveaway Day at Sew, Mama, Sew!