Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!! Lawson's Mardi Gras Dinner

I have not been able to splurge very much lately with the new diet. However, everyone has to enjoy the decadence that is Mardi Gras! A friend of mind posted on her Facebook wall the other day about what should she make for dinner on Fat Tuesday? I immediately got to thinking about how I could do a little twist on some cajun cooking. Here is what's for dinner tonight:

Cajun Shrimp Hushpuppies with a Green Tabasco Cream Sauce for dipping

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 small onion, grated
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped
• 1/2 pound cooked shrimp, cleaned and tails removed, chopped
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
• Peanut oil, for frying

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer or Dutch oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Drop heaping tablespoon-sized amounts of the mixture into the hot oil. Fry in batches for 2 to 3 minutes each. Remove from the oil to paper towels to drain and season immediately with salt and pepper Transfer to a serving platter or bowl and serve with the onion dip.

Green Tabasco Cream Sauce

1 cup whole cream

1/4 cup green tabasco

1 shallot thinly diced

1 garlic clove thinly diced

salt and papper to taste

combine all ingredients in sauce pan and let reduce by 50% cool and serve.

Stuffed Breast of Chicken with Pepper Jack, Boursin and Country Ham with Habanero Hollandaise

4 boneless breast of chicken

1 block of pepper jack cheese

1 container of herb boursin cheese

1/4 pound of country  ham

flatten out chicken breast and place country ham first spread boursin on top then thinly slice the pepper jack cheese. roll together and fasten with 2 or 3 toothpicks. Bake in oven at 375 degrees  for 25-30 minutes.

• Habanero Hollandaise
• 
  
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 habanero pepper finely diced.
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Fill the bottom of a double boiler part-way with water. Make sure that water does not touch the top pan. Bring water to a gentle simmer. In the top of the double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon water.
2. Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time while whisking yolks constantly. add in diced pepper. If hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Place a lid on pan to keep sauce warm until ready to serve.

Blackened Asparagus:

1 lb fresh asparagus spears, trimmed

4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tbsp ground cumin 1/2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped 1/4 tbsp crushed red pepper 2 tbsp olive oil Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic; saute for 1 minute. Add asparagus spears; stir to coat with olive oil. Continue to stir fry for 7 minutes. Add cumin, basil, and crushed red pepper; stir fry for an additional minute.

Bayou Wild Rice:

• cooking spray
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice
• 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced mushrooms
• 1 (2.25 ounce) package slivered almonds
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef consomme

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 2 quart stove top and oven-safe baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in the baking dish over medium heat. Stir in the wild rice and brown rice. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Stir in the onions; cook for 5 additional minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the mushrooms and almonds. Pour onion soup and consomme over the rice mixture. Cover with lid or aluminum foil that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Bake until rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stir before serving.

Home Made Bananas Foster:

• 
  
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons rum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise and crosswise
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream

Directions

In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. When mixture begins to bubble, place bananas and walnuts in pan. Cook until bananas are hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve at once over vanilla ice cream.

Now, I will not tell you this is entirely healthy! Actually, it is quite the opposite and decadent. However, 

this  will certainly be a crowd pleaser! Bon Appetite and Happy Mardi Gras!

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Mi Amore. . Let Me Cook For You!

I heard an interesting quote the other day. "When someone brings you into their own kitchen and cooks for you, that is the absolute pinnacle of giving oneself to another." I was absolutely inspired by that quote. I got to thinking and I realized that is so true. I put together a recipe that should be fun for you to try and oh so delicious! Happy Valentine's Day to you.

Sea Bass Amore

2  8oz filets of Sea Bass

¾ cup of julienned mixed peppers (red, orange yellow)

¼ cup of artichoke hearts ( quartered)

6 tablespoons of irish butter

¼ cup white wine

1 lemon quartered and seeded

2 sprigs of  thyme

2 cups of  baby spinach

6 red potatoes quartered

1/8 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450

-Boil potatoes til tender  mash with 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/8 cup of heavy cream set aside keep warm

Sauté peppers with 1 tablespoon of butter til tender, add artichokes and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Set aside

In same pan add ½ tablespoon of butter and sear Sea Bass to a light golden color deglaze pan with 1/8 cup of white wine add peppers and artichokes , ½ table spoon of butter , thyme and lemons and put in oven til almost cooked .  Remove place back over burner add spinach , remaining wine and cover to simmer and wilt spinach remove cover, set fish aside to rest  add 1 table spoon of butter and tighten sauce remove lemons .

Plate with potatoes nestled next to spinach with fish resting on both  , peppers and artichokes over top of fish with sauce drizzled over to finish

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8 Creative Valentines

It's Valentine's day and you've been racking your brain as to how you can be romantic without being cheesy?

 I mean let's face it, there is a very fine line. Here are some fun ideas to keep it cool and romantic all at the same time.

Sometimes it really is the little things that add up to be the sweetest.

                                               Gift wrap a wishbone in a jewelry box.
                                               Send it to her with a note that says,
                                                     "I wish you were here."

                                                              Unplug the TV.
                                                       Put a note on the screen saying,
                                                            "Turn me on instead."

                                                  Go through revolving doors together.

                                                         Write him a little love note.

                                               Insert it into the book he's reading.

Greet her at the door with one single red rose and a bottle of champagne as opposed to just walking in the house or apartment the same old way you always do.

                                 Hire a pianist to accompany your romantic in home dinner

Remember your first date? That date where you knew he or she was the one? Re-create it in your home complete with props, food and wine.

  Remove all the little paper strips that say "kisses" on a couple hundred Hershey's kisses. Fill a little jewelry box with them. Wrap them up and present the box to her with a gift certificate telling he or she that each kiss is redeemable for the real thing whenever they would like.

However, you decide to do it, make sure you be creative. Remember what we say, Candy is not creative. Happy Valentine's day from all of us on the LR team!

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Valentine's Day is not Just for Cards and Candy! Be Creative.

Roses are Red Violets are Blue, Valentines is coming up what to do? Ok i'll stay away from the poetry. However, I do have some fun ideas for you to get your man this season. Chocolate is passe. Guys don't enjoy the flowers really. . .so what the heck do you get the guy that has everything? This is where you get to be creative this Valentine's Day.

The "You" Collage: Go to the nearest dollar store and pick up a picture frame that has room for tons of pics. then have fun creating your collage. use some serious shots, use some funny shots and of course use some sultry shots. This is something he will absolutely L-O-V-E!!!

Cigar Box Pictures: This is something that he can take to the office and he will put right on his desk. It's a great way to have him think of you during the day. I would put some cool phrases in the shape of hearts and stick in the box as well.

Here's Looking at You Kid: This is another box such as an heirloom that you can put romantic quotes in and then it's something very cool to pull on out every day.

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Lawson's Perfect Super Bowl Sunday Appetizer: The Ultimate Pigs in a Blanket

I know what you're thinking! Perfect is a strong word to use. I will be totally honest and let you know that I have NEVER been let down with this one. It's a play on major comfort food. Flash back to your child hood and Pigs in a Blanket. The only difference is this one takes a bit of a gourmet turn. I can't just do pigs in a blanket. I have to spice it up a bit.

4 rolls of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Approx 1 pd Smoked Venison Sausage

1 jar honey

1 jar Dijon mustard (preferably deli style Grey Poupon)

1 pd sliced gruyere cheese

open your roll of crescents and unfold them. Cut them evenly into rectangles. Combine your mustard and honey in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Brush the crescents with your honey mustard. Place the sausage on the crescent and a piece of cheese on top of that. Brush the cheese with honey mustard. Then roll it up and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

You should get approximately 18-20 out of each crescent roll container.

Have fun tomorrow and remember, other than Thanksgiving, Superbowl is one of the biggest days for DUI. be safe and have a designated driver.

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Everyone has THE DIET!

You know what is so funny to me? The first time I mention that I am doing the whole weight loss thing again and people are crazy about telling me about this diet or that diet. Reality is, one can not live on pizza and decadent steak dinners every day. I am getting settled in with the reality that I have to eat 6 times a day.

I will be honest, I have not been doing so great with that just yet. Although It has only been 4 days to adjust. My goal is to be fully stocked on the proper food and protein etc by the weekend and rock it out starting Monday and forever after.

Diet is always the wrong word. It's a life style change. It's just so damn easy to enjoy the fabulous entertaining style lifestyle that I preach and eat all of the amazing food at the events that I produce.

Workout is going well. Ryan, is quickly realizing how non flexible I am! He's been great about getting me warmed up and stretched out and allowing enough time between intervals that I don't drop dead. Each work out will progressively get a bit tougher and I welcome it. I was actually sore the other morning and loved it.

Thank you for allowing me to share this journey with you. I have some awesome Valentine's ideas I will be sharing with you next week as well. In the meantime, look for more colorful updates on my weightless journey.

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Day 2 and the Diet Gestapo Attack

I headed in to the gym this morning knowing full well that I would be hating what I was going to find out. I mean let's face it, we all know when we need to lose weight. It comes as no big shocker. What should't shock anyone either is that  I haven't looked at a scale in over 3 months. That should have been my first clue.

I am all about total 100% honesty with you all. This is part of my being responsible and really ready to lose the weight. If you can believe it I weighed in at 241 pounds this morning. OMG!!!! YIKES. I also realized that my body fat was  upwards of 33%. Now if those numbers don't shock you nothing will!

We sat down and came up with a plan that will have me eating literally 6 times a day. One of the most surprising things that I realized was that I do not have to completely stop eating everything I want. It is more eating intelligently and not doing late night eating which I had fallen  back in the habit of doing.

The biggest question for me was what am I allowed to drink! Go figure!!! I found out that my choices of Chardonnay, Malbec and Vodka, I will be totally switching to red wine. I can do that. Interesting fact we are getting rid of all carbonated elements. No club soda even!

With that said, I will be sharing with you my diet and all the before, during and after pics. The goal is to get down to 180! I have a long way to go. I am excited about the journey and looking forward to having it stick this time.

Thanks for following me during this journey and of course I will be continuing the entertaining style updates as well. In the mean time:

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New Year. . . New Me. . . Day 1!!

I got up bright and early to make sure I was at the new gym with the new trainer this morning. I was really excited about it to be honest! I have not  done that in quite some time! So, I arrived and we started the initial fitness evaluation. I filled out all of the necessary paperwork and then came time for flexibility tests.

I was thinking to myself. . I am so screwed! I mean I had not worked out in months. To my surprise, Ryan my trainer told me I was pretty flexible and had great balance. I told him it was all of the experience walking on a boat with a cocktail in hand. I mean you can't spill the wine right?

I do need more flexibility but overall, he seemed to actually be impressed with me.

So, the deal is I will be working out with him Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the mornings. It really is the perfect way to get the day rolling. Full of energy. That is what came back to me the most as surprising. I forgot how much energy you have after you're done.  During the holidays I was needing to take a nap mid afternoon.

The goal remains the same. I am losing 50 pounds or more and will keep it off with a lifestyle change of healthy eating.  That is so tough in my business with all of the entertaining I do.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. They will be doing body fat % which will not be pretty. However, I am sharing every single detail with you and look for that really scary starting picture.  YIKES!!!

Taking the Show on the Road

I sit here this afternoon sitting in the back of a lovely silver limousine in the back with wifi and a bloody mary enjoying myself with some great music. I and my team are headed to Charlotte with Weddings Radio as the celeb wedding and event producer.

I will be meeting with over 400 brides tomorrow. We will offering our creative insights and showcasing some of the latest 2012 wedding trends. It's funny how things progress. I will be traveling across the country meeting brides and broadcasting live.

It's great I am marrying the concept of a new division that I will be launching later this month with weddings radio. I add to it the LR creative cutting edge brand of event design and entertainment concept development with a nationwide rollout of a new program that will change the entire wedding industry. It is already shaping up to be a huge year!

I want to personally thank you all for your support and I look forward to seeing you soon.

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I'm Engaged Now What? A Wedding Budget to get started.

Congratulations, you and your soon to be partner have decided  to take your relationship to the next level and get married. This is such an exciting time. The holidays are notoriously the most popular time to pop the question. Now that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is over, it's time to get to planning.

The first thing to do is to find a planner that can help you every step of the way to avoid that unnecessary stress. The first question I like to ask is do you know your budget? It is very important for you to have an idea of what you have to spend on your big day! You would be surprised even in this economy how expensive things can be. With that being said, one of the reasons our clients love us is that ALWAYS manage to find ways to achieve their desires in some creative fashion without breaking the bank.

Now every now and again we are lucky to have that client that money is no object. They are a luxury for us and a lot of fun to produce. However, with that being said, I have really started having a lot of fun creating our client's visions on a budget.

Here are some interesting percentages to keep in mind:

Reception: 50% of total budget: this includes, lighting, event space rental, food and beverage, rentals of all.

Florals & Decor:10% of total budget

Music: 10 % of total budget

Photography/Video: 10% of total budget

Ceremony: 2% of entire budget

Stationary: 2% of entire budget

Rings: 2% of entire budget

Rehearsal Dinner: 1% of  entire budget

Favors/Gifts: 3% of entire budget

Attire: wedding dress/tuxedo etc: 9% of entire budget

Transportation: 1% of entire budget

When a client calls us, we have created a very cool spread sheet program that shows purchase as they are made and inserted. This shows how it is taken out of the over all budget. Our clients find this so very helpful. Do not get overwhelmed. This process is really a great deal of fun. Just trust yourself with a professional and let the fun begin.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of your dreams!

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