Happy Halloween!

today was a busy day! luckily as i write this at 10pm, it's really kind of 9pm because it's daylight savings! i love fall back because we get an hour of sleep. yay!

so, E and i went to see EA and RJ and their costumes before they headed to yet another halloween party (those kids are busy!) EA was nancy drew (which i think is so awesome! thanks to emma roberts for making nancy drew cool again. i loved her books when i was younger). notice the magnifing glass and nancy drew's first book "the secret of the old clock."

RJ was a secret service agent. he looked so cool with his bluetooth, sunglasses, and gun!

he even had a badge

E also brought them glow in the dark alien t-shirts from roswell, nm.

while the kids were getting dressed, E played a star wars video game and drank a beer.
life is good, right E?

on the way out, K gave us a jack-o-lantern apple pie. thanks K, you rock!

E and i got home, fed the dogs and then went to hide out at my parents house. see, dignan is a barker, so we turn all the lights out at our house and go and hide out somewhere else for the evening to avoid trick-or-treaters. mom and dad live on a farm way up on top of a hill above a development and don't get any trick-or-treaters. we took dignan and roxy and hung out there.

roxy's mom molly and her sister lucy live at mom and dad's. here is molly sleeping under the table.

mom and i started to make dinner. but first we made drinks. the boys had beer . . .

while the girls had orange martinis (vodka, triple sec, and a cherry)

dad came home from spring meadow farms (he helps out there part time giving school tours to pre-school and elementary school kids as "farmer wayne") with his face painted with a tractor.

 

mom and i nibbled on some manchego cheese (one of my favs) while we made dinner.

dinner was mustard and tarragon chicken with roasted butternut squash risotto. i found it out was mom's first time having risotto. let's just say she realized what she's been missing.

i stirred the risotto while mom served as sous chef. she shredded cheese, made drinks, checked the chicken, and most importantly, kept me company:)

see dignan in the back keeping watch. he always keeps my company by "guarding" the kitchen.

he also "protects" the floor from any food threatening to drop on it. such a good boy. dad caught up on good clean fun eating posts while mom and i finished up dinner. he's one of my biggest fans:)

dinner was super yummy. very fall-like. it really hit the spot.
we served it on mom's autumnal corn plates.

after dinner, we played a little "last word" while we waited for dinner to settle and our tummy's to prepare for apple pie. fun game. (i won the game by the way. go me!)

finally we were ready - presenting apple pie a la mode

uh oh, dad's getting sleepy

so is roxy. it's time to go home.

i hope everyone had a wonderful halloween. thanks to K for the pie and mom and dad for harboring some trick-or-treater fugitives. love you all!

don't forget to turn back your clocks and enjoy your extra hour in bed. i know i will. sleep is on of my top five favorite things. seriously!

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Mustard Tarragon Chicken

(serves 4)

4 chicken breasts

3 tbs butter

3 tbs dijon mustard

1 tsp dried tarragon

preheat oven to 350.

place chicken in greased baking dish. meanwhile, melt butter in small saucepan. add mustard and tarragon and whisk till smooth. spoon half of mustard mixture over chicken.

bake for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through. spoon more sauce over chicken just before serving.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

(makes 4 main course or 6 side dish servings)

5 cups chicken stock
4 tbs olive oil, divided
1 small 1-2 lb butternut squash
3 shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked arborio rice
1/2 cups white wine
1/2 cups grated parmesan
salt
pepper

bring broth to a boil over medium heat. reduce to med low and keep warm.

preheat oven to 375. peel and cube butternut squash. place in greased baking dish and toss with 1 tbs olive oil, salt, and pepper. roast for 15-20 minutes until fork tender and staring to brown in edges.

add remaining 2 tbs olive oil to pot and saute onions until transparent. add garlic and thyme and cook another minute. add rice and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly until completely coated in oil and starting to turn translucent.

add wine and stir until almost all liquid has been absorbed. add 1 cup of warm chicken stock and stir constantly until almost all liquid has been absorbed. continue adding 1 cup of liquid at a time and cooking (while stirring) until nearly absorbed. you may not need all of the chicken stock but it will take between 20-30 mins. test rice to see if it is finished. it should be firm but not crunchy.

finally add squash and any liquid back to the pot and stir in salt and pepper to taste and parmesan cheese.

serve immediately. garnish with additional parmesan cheese if desired.