Last night, with chilled beers ready and a live-stream concert by our favorite band blasting throughout the condo, we busted out the new pasta maker we got for Christmas.

It’s an attachment for our Kitchen Aid mixer and, from a girl who knows nothing about pasta-making, it worked awesome.

Essentially, there is a ratio for the pasta dough. And if you follow it, I think it’s pretty hard to mess up. It goes like this:

• Two eggs per one cup of flour.
• One egg per person.

Easy? Right.

The smart chefs of the world will tell you to crack the eggs into a well of flour. So we did.

I added a little salt. In the future, I don’t think I’ll be afraid to try other things, like spinach or curry, or really anything.

Next, combine the eggs and flour with your hands (it’s kind of messy at first) to form the pasta dough.

At first I freaked out because I didn’t think it was coming together. It just seemed like a flour mess with sticky fingers. But eventually, it was clearly a dough. I kneaded ours for awhile – probably 5 to 7 minutes – until it looked the consistency of photos in cookbooks and online (really, this is how I cook). I also kept a recipe from the Pioneer Woman’s website handy. Jeff thinks we could have started running it through the pasta maker sooner than we did, however.

Then, you start running it through. I’m sure your pasta maker will come with directions. Ours had us do a combination of adjusting the setting and the wideness of the rolling bars in the pasta maker and folding the dough and feeding it through. This process took about 10 minutes total and had us feed the dough through the machine 10 to 15 or so times.We just kept feeding it until it seemed like an appropriate pasta thickness.

(As you can see, I have a sous chef. And a cute husband!)

Then, you switch the attachment to one that cuts noodles. Ours came with spaghetti and fettuccine-sized cutters. We selected the fettuccine attachment because I liked the idea of a flat noodle. Then, the fun part: Run the dough through.

(Sous chef not so good with the camera.)

Next up: Cooking it. Be very careful not to over-cook it, I read on the Internets. Also, make sure to salt your water. We boiled ours for exactly two minutes.

And then, you eat. Immediately, you’ll be happy you made it from scratch.

And so, our upcoming trip to the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee to see a Food Network celebrity will be just as much fun for him as it will be for me. Not that seeing Alton Brown wasn’t also fun for both. (BTW, thanks to Next Chapter Books for bringing the stars to Milwaukee!) Anyway, Jeff bought us tickets to the Giada event, which is in April, and I already cannot wait.

It works the same as Alton’s appearance did. Select dinner at one of two restaurants, get a meal cooked from the star’s newest cookbook, attend the show, leave with a signed cookbook.

Before we head to the show, we’ll have dinner at Bacchus.

Who knows why I never tried roasting broccoli. Duh.

Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli

What you’ll need:
1 head broccoli (or as much as you’d like), separated into florets
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss broccoli florets with the extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper and garlic. Spread the broccoli out in an even layer on a baking sheet. Squeeze on a little lemon.

Bake in the preheated oven until florets are tender and a little brown , 20 to 25 minutes. I flipped half way through. Squeeze on a little more lemon before serving.

Last night, we headed to dinner at the recently-opened Inter Tapas in Neenah. It’s located just across the street from the library and run by Cy, who is also the brains and hands behind Cy’s Asian Bistro, which is just a few blocks up.

Upon walking in to the place, which features a large bar with a sushi bar on one end, Cy was shaking hands with Jeff. Familiar. We sat at a high-top table and talked through the menu. In our family, I’m the sushi lover. Jeff doesn’t dislike it by any means, but he usually doesn’t go out of his way to order it, either. We did anticipate a larger menu, maybe one that extended beyond sushi, but in the end we both were not let down that it didn’t.

We ordered edamame ($3), shrimp spring rolls ($4) and two sushi rolls. My go-to sushi roll: Spicy Tuna ($8). Yum, yum, yum. The roll didn’t let down at Inter Tapas. Win. And then we also ordered a tempura shrimp, avocado, crispy crab, unagi sauce, spicy mayo something or other ($14). It was fantastic. (Jeff wants you to know that this is his phone photo. Marriage. Pft!)

I love the you-pick, I-pick of tapas places. I also love how date-style it makes the evening feel, sharing food off of plates and all of that. Plus, wasabi is my friend. Mixed with soy sauce I could practically drink it.

Instead, we each had a beer. The menu included everything from things you’d expect like Kirin to the spreading-to-all-places-Wisconsin New Belgium products on tap ($4.50 each). There was wine, too.

All in all, I guess I’m happy to have good sushi in Neenah, because that means it’s closer to Oshkosh than going to Appleton. Oshkosh has a sushi restaurant on the horizon – Manila (in the old Water City Grill, gosh do I miss Water City) – and I just hope it’s awesome, too. I am up for eating sushi frequently. I love the idea of something quick, healthy and international very close by. Inter Tapas hit the mark – it was good, fresh, fulfilling. We’ll go back.

However, I feel like I was kind of stuck in a rut as far as indoor recipes for salmon go. So, I hit Google. Stumbled upon this Food Network recipe and, as always, adapted based on what we had in the house.

What you’ll need:
A few pinches of dried cilantro
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger powder
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Salmon
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoons black sesame seed

Combine cilantro and scallion and mix in the oil and ginger. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut two 3-inch long slits through the salmon fillets (I just did it along the top), going about halfway into the salmon. Evenly stuff the slits with the herb mixture. Season the fish with salt and pepper.

Stir together the lime juice, soy and honey until smooth.

Position an oven rack so that a baking sheet set on the rack is about 4-inches below the heat source. Preheat the broiler. Place the skin size down on a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Broil basting 3 to 4 times with the sauce, until just cooked through, about 6 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Our salmon was more like a slab than a fillet so it took a little longer to cook. The sauce sort of caramelized as it cooked. It was a little sweet and a little salty and very delicious. This dish was very easy to cook and was quite flavorful. I’ll keep this on the go-to list.

Yeah, it’s a competition. Historically, one I’ve always lost, which is why there’s been need for change. Or shall I say, which is why I have consciously changed things around here. I did well my first Christmas as a wife, but I knew I’d have to step it up for my (new!) husband’s January 9 birthday.

I had heard about a little place just outside Green Bay, Wisconsin with to-die-for dinner options and a chef’s table. So, I made a reservation at Chives, 1749 Riverside Drive, Suamaco, which is rumored to be Aaron Rodgers’ favorite dinner place when he’s in town. Legend has it, the chef’s table was created just for him.

The cost of the table – for 2 or for 12 – is $65 per person (plus a bottle of wine, in our case, duh) and is worth every penny.

When we arrived, the chef, JR, came over to tell us how the evening would go. He’d just cook us a bunch of stuff, he said. And we’d eat. I. AM. IN.

First course: Fried Oysters with Vegetable Slaw and Remoulade (menu price $18). Sadly, I was so excited for the food to start coming that I forgot to snap a photo of the first course. I know, right? Anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever tried an oyster before because I think I though you had to slurp them out of a shell and I was never really interested. However, the dish wasn’t like what I had in my head about oysters. These were perfectly breaded and cooked, not fishy or slimy at all and had a great flavor. I liked how the zing from the slaw balanced the dish.

Second course: Grilled Asparagus with Miso Butter, Bacon and Poached Egg (menu price $10). I have always, always been an asparagus fan, so I was really excited when I caught a glimpse of this dish being prepared. This was amazing, one of my favorite courses, even. I was worried about Jeff on this one because he can be a little weird with runny eggs, but he too loved the dish.

Third course: We didn’t find this course on the regular menu. It was a porchini mushroom sauce over fresh wide noodle pasta topped with truffle oil and foie gras shavings. Jeff hates mushrooms, and always has, with all of his being. It’s the one food he won’t eat. He, with all of his being, loved this dish. Several times he called it, “earthy,” and he was right.

Fourth course: French Style Flounder with Artichoke and Pico (a similar menu item was priced at $32). I’ll always order the fish dish, so I was glad when this was placed in front of me. JR said the fish is breaded opposite from what you would expect. Flour, then egg, he said.The photo expresses my excitement over the fish; I almost forgot to take a photo!

Fifth course: The meat course. JR and his crew (which, by the way is totally a well-oiled machine. The kitchen is quiet, well traveled around and through, cordial. Our waiter told us that many of them have worked at Chivers for five plus years, and they really are a family.) prepared us a cracked pepper tenderloin with a brandy sauce. It was served with home fries and green beans. The steak was cooked more rare than I would have ever prepared a steak for myself. However, it was tender, not bloody and flavorful. I loved it.

Dessert course: It was our lucky day (or perhaps the fact we had Birthday Boy in the house). We were served two desserts!

One of the desserts was a pana cotta with a bourbon sauce. I liked it. It was smooth and sweet. However, the Smores Creme Brule stole the show for me. It was, hands down, my favorite part of the meal. This is very surprising because I am never the dessert person. The marshmallow and graham crackers were even home made.

Everything was so great that we’d love to try Chives again. We’d like to go back and eat dinner off of their regular menu sometime.

JR was an all-around nice guy, sharing tidbits about the dishes and stories with us. I think the interaction was a really nice touch for a special evening like Jeff’s birthday. At the end of our meal, I asked him if he’d take a photo with us.

Side note, cool thing: JR and his wife run a fantastic nonprofit called Seven Loaves Project. During our dinner, he brought over his iPad so we could learn a little more about the project, which essentially builds bakeries so people in Africa have something to eat.

The experience was great, the food was amazing, the setting was cool and I think I might even win the best gift award. The Birthday Boy has been talkin’ about dinner since we left. Love it.

(Happy (early) Birthday, Jeff. I love you!)

While I don’t ever remember declaring I hated coconut, I know I wouldn’t have even considered it as an ingredient a few years ago. However, you might remember my making of coconut shrimp recently, which I love and was also a hit with Jeff’s family.

In the Dominican Republic, coconuts were very popular. There was the Coco Loco drink, which essentially was a Pina Colada inside a coconut. So yum!

You’d also, obviously, find coconut in many other drinks like the mango colada. I also fell in love with the coconut macaroon-like cookies.

And so, now that I’m back in Oshkosh, I’m craving coconut like a crazy woman. As it turns out, there isn’t a guy with a machete in our living room ready to make me a drink.

So, I have to settle on things that come from around here. Haagen-Dasz’s pineapple coconut ice cream does the trick when I’m having a coconut craving, as does International Delight’s Almond Joy coffee creamer.

If you have any coconut recipes to share (especially if they aren’t baking recipes), I’ll take them!

Before I go, I must also comment on the pineapples. They were also to die for.

In fact, I ate so much pineapple (usually my breakfast of choice each morning) I’m pretty sure I gave myself a cold sore. So, on the later days of our trip I had to slow down on the pineapple (not the booze, don’t you worry). It was hurting my lips!

Before we left, I knew the fruit on the trip would be one of my favorite things. And really, it was. It was all fresh and sweet and so very refreshing after a swim in the ocean or pool (we’re underwater in our hotel the photo below (yes I’m in my swimsuit on the Internet, but you sort of have to be for an underwater camera photo)). I miss that place.

I didn’t write as much as I wanted to and the plan for 2012 is to change that. So, I’ve developed a list of things I’d like to attempt cooking in 2012. My thought is cooking new recipes will give me a lot to talk about and no excuse not to blog.

So, the list:

• Home made pasta. Like, from scratch. For Christmas, Jeff’s family got us the pasta maker attachment for our Kitchen Aid mixer. We’re excited to try it out.
• Beef wellington. This comes by recommendation from the chef at the restaurant where Jeff bartends.
• A lamb dish. I’ve never tried to prepare lamb, so it’s time.
• A veal dish. I don’t use veal nearly enough.
• A Julia Child recipe. I put this on the list because I haven’t prepared anything from her giant cookbook since the challenge I participated in.
• Tamales. We both love tamales so much. I hear they actually aren’t that hard to make. I’m up for the challenge.
• Submit a 24X24 concept to Foodbuzz. Even if I’m not selected, make some variation of the meal.

Truth is, I’d like to add three more to this list. I’m looking for ideas of dishes that are classics that I probably haven’t tried to prepare or dishes that are a little bit of a challenge. However, I feel this list is a very good start.

Besides writing more, I’d also like to photograph more. When we got smartphones, I got in the horrible habit of leaving my real camera in its bag. I snap crappy photos with my phone of the yummy stuff we make instead of taking the two minutes to pull out my precious Nikon. This year, I’m reverting back to a camera that can do my food some justice. Resolution two is to photograph better and more.

With that, I wish you a happy, healthy and delicious 2012!

Which isn’t really even true.

If I came to your house for dinner and you made chicken, I’d eat it. And, I’d probably really like it. I just don’t prepare chicken. In the six plus years Jeff and I have been together I’ve prepared and subsequently eaten chicken approximately three times.

Enter, our trip.

Each day on the beach,  around noon, it would start to smell good, like the sweet smell of grill. Made you miss Wisconsin a little, even. The smell was from the big grills they’d get going for a barbeque of sorts on the beach. And the chicken, along with everything else, was amazing. The chicken was usually served with seafood-loaded rice, which was also too good to pass up.

There were also woodfired pizzas, hot dogs, egg rolls, burgers and more. Even better, the service was over-the-top good. Everything always came with a smile and if you asked for something special, the cooks were always agreeable. I always asked for white meat and then they’d proceed to use a giant knife to just chop the whole chicken in half.

I honestly do not know what it was about the chicken. Usually, I don’t really like to look at chicken because it’s gross and slimy and reminds me it was once alive with cartilage and stuff. But this chicken was really juicy and really tender and didn’t remind me it used to be alive. Except for that part where there was an alive chicken who roamed by the bar about 20 yards away. The other interesting thing I noticed about their food in general, including the chicken, is they hardly use any seasoning. I noticed you could really taste the flavor of the meat, poultry and fish there because the seasoning was so minimal.

I’m not sure if I’ll become a chicken eater (or preparer) here at home. Again, there’s something about it’s raw form that I think is kind of gross. However, I don’t think I’ll be so hard on chicken, either. I don’t think I really can be after eating it and enjoying it so much on the trip.

I might even stop saying, “Uhhh, I hate chicken.”

These days, I sometimes feel like I hardly cook once per month. Now, that’s kind of an exaggeration, but the fact is, I sucked at blogging in 2011. I want to change that for 2012.

So, I’m thinking something along the lines of try making these 10 things. However, I don’t have the list of “these” developed, yet. Which is why I need help. What 10 things should I attempt to make this year?

In turn, cooking 10 new things will force me to blog more, which is my real resolution. No excuses!

The only must-make item I have on the list so far is homemade pasta, which is inspired by the pasta maker Kitchen Aid attachment we received for Christmas.

Help! Thanks.