Pistachio Crusted Chicken

I picked up a bag of shelled Pistachio's from Costco and wanted to make Pistachio Crusted Chicken and found this recipe at allrecipes.com and it is just yummy, add some raspberry jelly on the side to make it extra yummy.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken:

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pistachios (I used my pampered chef chopper to make them extra small)
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard (I used Stonewall Kitchen Maine Maple Champagne Mustard)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 large boneless chicken breasts (it called for 2 but I was able to do 3 large and had leftover nuts)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2.  Mix together pistachios and bread crumbs in a shallow bowl.  In a separate bowl, stir together mustard, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper until smooth.  Dip chicken into mustard mixture to coat, then coat with bread crumbs.  Place onto prepared baking sheet.
3.  Place into preheated oven and turn the oven down to 375 degrees F Bake until the chicken is no longer pink and the pistachio coating is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Transforming Paper into Jewelry - Francesca Vitali

By repurposing paper, books and magazines with her own weaving techniques, Francesca Vitali creates vibrant, innovative jewelry.  Transforming these ordinary materials into beautiful designs becomes a form of alchemy.

Francesca explains,

In ancient times, alchemists have been ambitiously trying to convert common matter into gold. Sharing this grand aspiration, I strive to transform paper, a humble and ordinary material, into precious objects of original and modern design. . . I enjoy the idea that fragments of our lives will remain trapped in my paper jewelry. . . In my most recent work, I . . . mix traditional metalsmithing approaches with embroidery, weaving, or tramp art. These techniques are revisited to confer my productions a unique signature. When I design a new piece, I found myself following aesthetic principles based on clean lines, repeated patterns, and geometric shapes. I also pay very close attention to colors which often become the focal point of my design.

This oxidized copper bracelet features her woven paper technique. The delightful paradox of combining paper and copper becomes a work of art that's also fun to wear.

This pendant features another of her original designs. The meticulous work and imaginative design translates into a piece filled with color, texture and motion.

This piece is especially interesting because individual words and letters can be seen in the recycled paper.

Repurposed materials can be transformed into upcycled jewelry in the hands of the right artist. This artist has those fortunate hands.  See more luscious photos at  Francesca Vitali's Facebook page.

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Working from the Basics - Wendy Newman Jewelry

Jewelry created by Wendy Newman is a visual feast. As a lapidary and metalsmith Wendy finds many of her own raw stones and cuts them herself to create vibrantly-colored gemstones that she then showcases with exquisite settings.

As she describes on her website,

“It is always a challenge for me to balance the visual weight of the stone with the complexity of the metal work. It also provides a visual irony between the organic quality of the stone and the industrial quality of the metalwork.“

This lovely pendant features an Australian opal that she highlights with peridot, apatite, sapphire and a London blue topaz.

This piece focuses on a black druzy quartz that is punctuated with red, orange and yellow sapphires in a sterling silver and 18k gold setting.

This double-layered pendant in sterling and 18k gold is a showcase for a druzy quartz, imperial topaz, andalucite, and sapphire.  I especially like being able to see within the setting to the other side.

The interplay of gemstones and metals are a fearless mix of unusual patterns and shapes - they just make me want to keep looking at them.


There is a lot more information and images to be seen at Wendy Newman's website.

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Bethenny's Skinnygirl Workout... I am loving it!

I picked this workout DVD, Bethenny's Skinnygirl Workout, on a whim at Target and have to say it is one of my current favorites.  It got me through the holiday season.  When I was stressed and my body ached I would pop this in and do one of the 10 minute work outs.  I can't say this is going to make you break a sweat but it really stretches you out.  There are a few short yoga rountines and a bonus stretching section.  I find the moves challenging but really good.  For me if work outs are longer than 20 minutes I won't do them.  I am going to check out a few of Bethenny's other work out DVD's.  Namaste friends! 

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2012 already???

The holidays have come and gone and I can hardly believe it is 2012 already.  We are enjoying some family time and Will has just a few days until he is back in school.  I have decided not to make any New Year's Resolutions as I never keep them, but one thing I am on a mission to do is declutter... but I will say we may need to put on an addition just to house Will's Lego collection.  Wishing all a very Happy New Year! 

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Serving With Elegance

Added 4/18/12


Sure, you could use an ordinary spoon, fork, and a knife to serve your prepared meals. Or you could use these highest caliber stainless steel utensils (from Oneida) that have been adorned with stone, art glass, and Austrian crystal. Choose your colors to match the plates. They even make the food look more delicious! Perfect for house warming gifts, special occasion meals, or wedding/engagement presents. Made to be durable and enjoyed for many years. Inquire about other available pieces.

Close up of stone/glass/bead work. Click to further enlarge

Pie/cake server

Close up of luscious purples, burgandies, and pinks

Salad/Fish/Meat Serving Fork

Deep Earth Tones, very vibrant.

Slotted Pasta Scoop, also great for serving vegetables

                                                                                      

Salad and Serving Spoon  

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Fresh - Exhibition in Print

The current exhibition at the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee is called, "Fresh - Exhibition in Print."  It runs from December 9, 2011 to March 4, 2012.

This particular exhibit is described as "from the pages of Metalsmith magazine, comes a juried exhibition of work produced since 2009. Metalsmith magazine is a publication of the Society of North American Goldsmiths."

Despite the rather enigmatic description, this exhibition does feature work that we would characterize as new, different and, yes, fresh.  Work from the following 30 artists was selected for inclusion in this exhibit: 

Stevie B., Suzanne Beautyman, Nikky Bergman, Jim Bové, Namu Cho, Jennifer Crupi,
Adriane Dalton, Sidney Caldwell Deaghlan, Anja Eichler, Aliyah Gold, Kevin Hughes,
Minwon Kim, Andrew Kuebeck, Robert Longyear, Timothy McMahon, Andrea Miller,
Edgar Mosa, Seth Papac, Mary Hallam Pearse, Ryan Peters, Sara Pfau, Devin Ragotzy,
Katie Rearick, Sondra Sherman, Natalie Smith, Amy Tavern, Stephanie Tomczak,
Jennifer Trask, Andrea Wagner, Amy Weiks & Gabriel Craig.

Here are a couple of images from this exhibition.

This is called 'Swag Neckpiece' by Jennifer Trask.

The following piece is called 'Ornamental Hands' by Jennifer Crupi.

With a finger on the pulse of what is fresh in design, materials, and techniques, this is an opportunity to see a wide variety of work that is out of the ordinary.

Fresh: Exhibition in Print will be on display until March 4, 2012.  For more information you can visit the Metal Museum website.

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