Take 2: The Smokehouse Redeems Itself!

We have been redeemed! The D&R Smokehouse has been renamed to the D&R Chunkery. (We wanted to make sure our little bundle of joy was included, so instead of Cookery we went with Chunkery. Corny and probably, on some level, crazy, but we like it.) Damon took out the pots and pans again to whip up some tasty Stuffed Bell Peppers!

So in the last cooking lesson, we learned when oil is heated too hot it smokes and to not throw things in to the hot oil. In this lesson we learned to saute and stuff. :) I was hoping to be able to have something similar to the last post for everyone's enjoyment, but Damon did really well with this dish. As you can see in the pictures, he chopped, cooked and then baked the peppers all by himself.

I think he may be getting tired, already, of me taking his picture while he cooks. But I want to document his learning, that way he can't say he doesn't know how to do it! (Just kidding Love!) Really and truely I am just proud of him and want to make sure we have something to look back on and laugh at when we are old and gray. I wish I had documented our first year with all of the funness that that contained. I mean right off the bat, before we even said "I Do" he is trying to get me to go into Wal-Mart in my wedding dress! Needless to say, that didn't happen. Then we moved onto trying to get all of our stuff replaced from the break-in to who is going to sleep on what side of the bed. That, by the way, took a decent conversation to get settled. LOL!!

Definately we have had a great, but learning, experience in our short time of being married. I think we have now moved on to the expanding time in our lives. No, I am not saying that we are increasing the number of people in our little family by any means! LOL! I just think we have finally settled in and found where each of us fit. I have my side of the couch, he has his side of the bed. The drawers are all "claimed" in the dresser and bathroom. I think we are now just expanding our feelings even deeper for each other and showing each other everyday why we made the decision to spend the rest of our lives together. I hope Damon would be able to say that I have made him "better" in ways that no one else has. I know I can say that about him. Part of a song from the Musical "Wicked" says, "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good." I think Damon has changed me for good. I definately stand up for myself more, speak my mind more and have no problem being a fool in public for some fun. All of that really started when we started dating. Who knows why, but I am so glad that he was put in my path and I took a chance on someone who I could have easily never met. I mean who else am I going to chase after with a spray bottle and squirt them before bedtime until they are moist and refreshed? Plus, who would laugh at that and try to get me back?!

The D&R Smokehouse!

Well this blog is all about bragging, eating and de-smokifing the house! Yes, Damon is learning to cook. :) He is such a good husband. This fall and the next two spring semesters I will be working and taking classes so he has volunteered to learn how to cook more and help with the household chores. Such a big help!

So...our first dinner by Chez Damonator. Initially it was planned to learn to make Stuffed Bellpeppers, but our stomaches decided that Chicken Fried Steak and Mashed Potatoes was the meal to make. So out came the flour, eggs and pepper. After the potatoes were peeled and in the pot boiling he went to mixing the batter. His Assistant, a hm, me, went to heating the oil. Well, for anyone that knows my cooking past, you would know that most of the time something goes wrong. It might be as simple as putting the ingredients in wrong to a minor burn. Well this time, Chez Damonator's Lovely Assistant turned our home into a smoke filled cookery. Did you know that when oil gets too hot it will smoke? AND that smoke will fill up your home and is VERY hard to clear out! Yes, all our doors were open and fans turned on high and it still took a while to get all the smoke out.

After that was handled we got down to frying up some food. Flour...Batter...Flour...Oil. Chez Damonator did a wonderful job battering the steak. But we had a curve ball thrown at us when we had to learn how to put the battered meat into the hot oil. I may have filled the house with smoke but Chez Damonator got me back with a splatter of hot oil. Luckily, I got out with just a minor blister. From then on we learned the correct way to put the meat into the pan. :)

I don't know if it was because of her being stopped from running out the front door while we were de-smoking our home or having someone different then her Momma cooking in the kitchen, but Chunky elected to stay back on our bed and out of the way...it really wasn't that bad in the kitchen. LOL! Damon did a great job for not a beginner meal. It was tasty and very satisfying to the taste buds!

I look forward to tasting many more of his creations! :)

First Year Celebration!

To have and to hold, in sickness and in health. In love and in laughter! Well, it is evident that we love each other and luckily we are healthy and not worrying about the "in sick" portion. So we chose to expand the "in laughter" clause of our marriage! For our FIRST Anniversary we found a quaint bed and breakfast in Fort Worth's Sundance Square. Etta's Place was the perfect little get-a-way. We stayed in "Laura's Room" with their Lily Package. LOL!! Basically we got to enjoy a king size bed, champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and a couple's massage in our room. The couple's massage was the perfect way to start the get-a-way! Our room was on the third floor at the corner of the building, practically right above Four Day Weekend. I couldn't have planned it better if I knew where these places actually were. Mom and Dad watched our little dog for us, which was a huge help. But we did miss the little Chunk all weekend.




Anyway. the Bed and Breakfast was great. The room was nice and the food was tasty. After our massages we grabbed the wine and headed to Nonna Tata for some dinner. This is a little hole in the wall. Literally! I think our living room and kitchen are the same size as this entire restaurant! Poor Damon appologized several times to the guy behind him for bumping him during dinner. This little, hidden place was suggested to use by a friend and I enjoyed it, I think Damon is still out on it. Close your eyes and picture with me, a small intimate setting where you are sipping wine and smelling fresh cooked italian foods. There is quite conversation going on and the love of your life is sitting across from you. How is that not a great dinner?



Saturday we went to the Fort Worth Science Museum and toured the Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit. That man was a genius! We never knew that he influenced or invented so many things! This man made bridges for the armies, different types of war machines to flying machines and pulley systems. Not to mention all of the paintings. I don't know how the man found all of the time and inspiration. It is easy to say that our society would not be the same without that man's ingenious inventions. From there we got to go to the Amon Carter Museum and enjoyed some of the paintings there. The weather was wonderful and we couldn't have asked for a better day to walk around.





Damon planned dinner for Saturday, Pirana's Sushi! Oh WoW! This was wonderful! We stuffed ourselves and were contemplating ordering another Sexy Roll just to have that taste in our mouth! I think it was probably one of my favorite rolls that I have ever eaten! After waddling out of Pirana's we strolled around the square for little while and then found our way to Four Day Weekend. This place is a scream! If you have never been you have to go. I don't think I have heard Damon laugh that much in a pretty good while. They had skits from their version of Cops to Jaws showing up at the Zoo.





After breakfast in bed on Sunday we packed our stuff. Neither of us wanted the wonderful time to end but sadly all good things must come to an end. We tried to stretch the weekend out with a movie and fireworks at The Highlands. It was nice to come home though to a surprise. My Mom dropped our little chewer off and cleaned on the house for us! She is the best!


So to end this post I would like to leave you with a quote from Four Day Weekend, "There are two qualifications to be a Fort Worth Policeman. First, you have to be a bad ass! Second, you have to be able to ride a bike. It is hard work being a bike cop. Do you know how fast you have to petal to pull someone over for speeding?!"