Thankful

It's that time of year again, where we gather with friends and family and give thanks for all the wonderful, silly, happy things in our lives.  2019 has been a great {and fast!} year and as we still have some exciting stuff planned for the rest of the year, I'm feeling thankful and joyful for all of the great things in my life right now, like the cutest nephew, a 'drop-everything-for-ya' family, homecooked meals, our old lady dog, crisp sunny days, homemade old fashioned's, Trader Joe's, yoga, red wine, Saturday morning coffee, the Hawks, warm socks, a cozy bed, great girlfriends, a home that is {hopefully} not falling apart, my sweetie, and snuggles :)

What are you thankful for this year?  Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like.....

This past weekend Mom & Dad came down to Seattle to help me spruce up my outdoor holiday decor.  Dad filled up the back of the truck with an assortment of greens from their yard and we quickly went to work turning my archway into a festive and welcoming display {we've sure come a long way since that first year!}.  I love how beautiful and inviting it looks when I come home from a long day at work and I can't wait to string some lights up there to make it extra Christmas-y.  I may be biased, but I'm pretty certain I have the best dad ever and am such a lucky girl that he still helps me with these silly requests of mine.  Thanks Dad! 

xoxo,
stephanie knutzen

The Weekend {In Pictures}

{friday night dinner & wine}

 {leaves that never end}

 {decorating for the holidays}

 {dad on the roof}

 {dinner with the parents at our favorite neighborhood spot}

 {go hawks!}

 {gameday breakfast with my favorite leggings}

{waiting for dad to come out of the library}

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!  I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving and then after that it's basically Christmas - where does the time go?!  I'm hoping to get a bit organized this weekend with some lists and *possibly* getting some decorations ready, along with spending time with the fam and my sweetie {since we haven't celebrated his birthday quite enough yet}.  Hope you have a cozy weekend - stay warm!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Banana Cream Pie

For almost as long as I've known Christian he's talked about his love of banana cream pie {he even sent us on a hunt around Wenatchee for one last year} so for his birthday this year I decided to make him one.  I scoured the internet and my cookbooks looking for recipes and after much deliberating decided to go with What's Gaby Cooking's version {minus the salted whiskey caramel sauce}, mainly because I already had a box of graham crackers and the recipe looked relatively simple.  While it is pretty easy to make, I started in the morning to give myself plenty of time to make all of the pieces and give them ample time to cool {you could even use a pre-bought crust which would make this even quicker}.  Needless to say, Christian was thrilled when I presented him with his pie and after the first bite said I could officially stay in the family {with the caveat that I continue making pies}.  I'd call that a success!

Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients
Crust
12 full size graham crackers
1/8 cup white sugar
6 Tblsp butter, melted

Vanilla Pudding
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tblsp cornstarch
2 Tblsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 Tblsp vanilla extract {or 1 vanilla bean, seeds removed}

Whipped Cream & Assembly
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tblsp powdered sugar
2 ripe bananas

Instructions
For Crust
1. For the crust, place graham crackers and sugar in bowl of food processor and pulse to break up until crackers are same consistency as sugar.  Alternatively, use a muddler or potato masher to break up graham crackers. 
2.  Add melted butter and combine until crackers are damp.
3. Remove mixture from bowl or processor and transfer to 9 inch pie pan.  Press the crumbs into a crust evenly along bottom and up side of pan.
4. Heat oven to 375.  Bake crust about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

For Vanilla Pudding
1. Bring milk and cream to a simmer in medium saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt in large mixing bowl.
3. Add egg yolks to mixing bowl and whisk until smooth but very thick.
4. While whisking consistently, gradually add the warmed milk mixture to the yolk mixture {you don't want to cook the eggs, so keep whisking as you add}.  Once they're fully combined, return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until thick, about 3 minutes.  
5. Add butter and vanilla and stir until butter has melted.
6. Transfer to medium bowl.  Press plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding.  Chill until set, at least 2 hours.

For Whipped Cream & Assembly
1. Using electric mixer, beat cream and powdered sugar until medium-stiff peaks form.  Cover and chill.
2. To assemble, spread about 1/2 cup vanilla pudding evenly over graham cracker crust.  Layer about half sliced bananas over pudding.  Top with more pudding and top that with remaining bananas.  Top with remaining pudding and garnish with whipped cream.  Chill until ready to serve.

adapted from whats gaby cooking

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Birthday Dinner {Staple & Fancy}

For Christian's birthday dinner I knew I couldn't top Mama's Fish House from last year {so. good.} but I wanted to take C somewhere new to him and a little fancier than our typical date night.  We settled on Staple & Fancy, an Ethan Stowell classic that year after year continues to serve delicious food.  Since I had mentioned in the reservation that we were celebrating a birthday, our waitress kindly brought us complimentary half glasses of prosecco to start out before we dug into the Chef's Tasting Menu.  While this menu is still definitely the reason to go to this restaurant, it's gone up quite a bit in price over the last few years {man, I miss those $45 days when it was the best deal in town} and while the quality of food was delicious, the quantity seemed to go down from the last several times I went, making it feel like I was paying more for less food.  Regardless, we had a delicious evening sharing course after course of yummy plates and I know after all the talking he did about it that C had a wonderful birthday celebration.  Cheers to that!

{hamachi crudo with pomegranate and salami}

{Holy-Wood Nights bourbon cocktails}

{homemade mozzarella, smoked cod on toast, and acorn squash soup}

{smoked fish and fried oysters}

{carmelized onion & ricotta ravioli with butternut squash pesto}

{steak}

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Workin' {Chihuly Garden & Glass}

Today marks 1 year at my “new” job and honestly I can’t believe how fast time has flown by.  A year ago I was so nervous walking into a new place after being at my previous company for 12 years, but a year later I can honestly say I have zero regrets and have never looked back.  While no job is perfect, this place is such a better fit for me and I've met such wonderful and interesting people and have been exposed to some pretty great events and opportunities .  I am forever grateful for this job and am excited to see what the next year has in store.  I'll leave you with some pictures from an all day lab retreat at Chihuly Garden & Glass yesterday that I was invited to - not a bad office for the day at all ;)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

The Weekend {In Pictures}

{friday night lights at uvillage}

 {more birthday celebrating}

 {friday night dinner with our new/old fave show}

 {saturday morning baking}

 {walks}

 {views}

 {saturday night dinner at delancey}

 {sunday brunch}

{playing tourist downtown}

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!  What are you up to this weekend?  We're keeping the birthday celebrations going with some yummy family dinner and our favorite Friday evening activity - Netflix :)  Hope you have a great and cozy weekend!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Happy Birthday Christian!

Happy Birthday to this handsome guy {and greatest dog dad}!  Christian, you are the most wonderful man and my favorite person - I am so thankful we found each other.  Cheers to many more years of home cooked meals, snuggles on the couch, laughing 'til we cry, hand-holding walks, and adventures both far away and close to home.  Life is so much better with you in it, and I can't wait to celebrate you!!

xoxo,
stephanie marie