Anniversary Dinner

Randy and I decided to cook our own anniversary dinner this past weekend instead of going out. We made Steak with a cranberry-port sauce and Gorgonzola cheese. WOW. We also had a salad with pecans, bleu cheese, and cranberries with a red wine vinaigrette. Along with this I made some scallops potatoes, crescent rolls (which didn't look like crescents thanks to Randy) and some Carmel chocolate bars.

We had a great dinner! Here are the recipes, I recommend the cranberry-port sauce even as a bread dip.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 large garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 large shallot, sliced
• 1 1/4 cups canned beef broth
• 1 cup ruby Port
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

• 4 5- to 6-ounce beef tenderloin steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Preperation:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallot, then 1 cup broth, Port and cranberries. Boil liquid until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes. Set sauce aside.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Add steaks to skillet; cook to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plate; cover loosely with foil. Add rosemary to skillet, then sauce and remaining 1/4 cup broth. Boil 1 minute, scraping up browned bits. Season with salt and pepper; spoon sauce over steaks. Top each with cheese.

Along with the cooking we also painted our dining room (pictures to come) and I went to Splashtwon with my nizzle!

My Office

So Randy painted my office red for my birthday and I decided to do a little redecorating. I had seen a bathroom at one of my shows where she painted it red and then had damask curtains. Loved it. My sister-in-law is also doing her bedroom in the white and black damask!

I went to target and found the curtains on SALE!! However, they are a champagne instead of white so I had to improvise with the old lap and pump a goldish shade on it. Needless to say, NOTHING in damask I have found since is in champagne...its all WHITE. I went looking for some scrapbook paper to frame to match the room...all WHITE! So, I decided to make some picture frames with cream paper and some stickers that were semi-damask that will go above the new fish tank!

Above the desk I am in the process of painting some canvas cream and then I have a damask wall stencil and some black paint and I am going to make my own art work to match!