Twin Beds, you guys

So the moving thing is getting real, VERY REAL. We got word from Rockefeller that we would not be making it to the top of the housing wait list until after we move. So they have offered us a furnished studio apartment on campus. This sounds okay right? Well, it doesn't allow Fenways, and it also stipulates that you cannot bring any of your own furniture. This is where it will get complicated.

My parents have so graciously offered to care for Mole until our one bedroom apartment opens, and also to take all of our furniture and belongings and store them in their garage until D-Day.

To add icing to this beautiful cake of transition, we found out today that our new digs will have two twin beds instead of one full or queen sized bed. This news made Sean and I just about lose it with laughter. At least we can still laugh about how we will be building forts or pushing our beds together at night to tell scary ghost stories.

I said, someday, all this moving business will be funny. And we can write about it in our autobiographies. But until then, we will blog.

All Quiet on the Western Front

It's been a while since we have posted but it has been a hectic couple of weeks. Siobhan is now Dr. Siobhan Gregg (congrats!!), and our friends Jon Altman and Beth Warner are now Jon and Beth Altman (congrats!!). But now I think things should calm down before the big move to NYC in a little under 2 months. It's crazy to think of how soon it will be here. Siobhan was going through her stuff and throwing away a bunch of it yesterday and I need to do the same. Now that our trip to Florida is over, we can relax and not worry about stuff for a while, so keep your eyes peeled for more posts.

Delicious, Cheap and Easy dinner!

So the other night we had our friends Jon and Beth stop by for dinner. Beth and I were planning to have a cookie baking fest, as we were donating some of our baked goods for a friend's wedding cookie table. In order to keep our strength up for all that baking, we needed a hearty and delicious meal. This is where Ina Garten's Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese came in. I bought two whole chickens, cut into pieces, with skin, with bones, the whole shebang. You start by turning your oven onto 375, and washing & patting the bird dry with a papertowel. Next you take a log of goat cheese with garlic and herbs (sold at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, NOT Walmart) and slice it into medallions about 1/4 inch thick. Then wrap a basil leaf around the cheese and stick it under the skin of the chicken parts. Lightly oil the outside with olive oil and add course salt and pepper.

For the complete recipe, click on the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-with-herbed-goat-cheese-recipe/index.html

Bake for 45 min to an hour, and voila! Dinner is served.

We made this with some sweet potatoes (my autumnal fav) that we roasted with olive oil, brown sugar and maple syrup. Wern had the brilliant idea to sprinkle some chipotle pepper on at the end and it made for this amazing combination of sweet and savory. I highly recommend.

The chicken and sweet potatoes cooked together in perfect harmony at 375 for about the same length of time. This gave me the opportunity to drink a glass of wine and catch up on Modern Family with Wern. Ahhhh, the perfect evening.

Bon appetit!

In honor of Halloween, Mole wanted to showcase his best possessed look. DEVIL DOG!

Moving

It still hasn't hit completely yet that in two months and some change we will be residents of NYC. It's scary because of the uncertain job market and the slight increase in the cost of living that comes with the move, but its also exciting. It's exciting to have it be just the two of us (and that ne'er do well Mole) and to discover a new city. And not just a new city, but arguably one of the most vibrant, exciting cities in this part of the Horsehead Nebula. I have lived with roommates for the last 7 years, so it's going to be nice to have it just be Siobhan; we both will not have a problem airing our grievances when someone leaves the kitchen a mess or the toilet seat up. I won't need to worry about coming home from work and having a Gerry Egan incident.

We are living in one of the quieter neighborhoods of NYC, but it still has so much more going on than your busiest Pittsburgh neighborhood. It's going to be weird not having a car and walking everywhere, but I think it will be great for our fitness and stress levels. Besides, think of all the amazing pictures we can surreptitiously take of ridiculously outfitted people. Even the food options, which a lot of New York people consider limited are still better than a lot of what you see in Pittsburgh. Being close to Central park will also be cool, at least until those guys from "The Warriors" show up and try to teach us a thing or two.

The Greatest Hot Dog of All Time

So, first welcome to our non-sensical blog! This is an interesting little experiment that Sean and I are trying out to chronicle our transition to the big city. The posts will be on various (read: really random) topics, including food, travel, books, and a special segment I'd like call "Mole And the City".

Since we are in the 'burgh until mid-January we will begin our story there....

Yesterday I finished the last revisions on my thesis and turned it in. This was cause for celebration because I had slaved over that document for 2 solid weeks, turning my life (and Sean's sleep schedule) completely upside down. As a reward for my hard work, Sean offered to take me out for a well deserved meal of food. But where to go....oh the choices are endless in Pittsburgh, the gastronomic capital of Appalachia. And so we settled on one of our favorite places....

SONIC.

Yes, the awesome, drive-up, fast-food joint that lies about 20 miles outside of the city of Pittsburgh. We like to combine these trips with grocery shopping at none other than Wal-Mart. Classy, I know.

I want to share with you my thoughts on my all-time favorite food from Sonic. It's not the fun flavored drinks, or the tater tots that really get me going, but it's actually their Chicago Hot Dog. Ahh-maz-ing. Truly, this thing is so delicious. And I normally hate all hot dogs. I can't stand the ends of hot dogs, so I normally leave those nubbins in my napkin, or feed them to Mole. But this Chicago Hot Dog has changed all of that. I eat every last morsel, and would probably get another if Sean wasn't around to judge me.

What exactly is a Chicago Hot Dog? You may be wondering.....

It is "a water-simmered all beef frankfurter" that is laid down on a soft poppy-seed bun. Those poppy seeds are an essential part of the CHD experience. As for toppings, native Chicagoans have shunned ketchup (or catsup as Sean would say) from their hot dogs. I'm okay with this. They replace that tomato flavor with actual, juicy slices of tomatoes, along with sweet pickle relish, chopped white onions, pickled peppers, and a crunchy dill pickle spear. This is all finished off with a dash of celery salt, just for good measure. Oh, how I'm drooling just thinking of it.

This tradition of the Chicago Hot Dog dates back long before Sonic, to 1893. It was first served up at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The brilliant folks who came up with the CHD were of Jewish ancestry, hence, their pork-free, Kosher awesomeness. I feel like I would have been very good friends with these people, had we all been around together. But the best way for me to pay my respects to them, is with this post. So do yourself a favor. Go to Sonic and eat a Chicago Hot Dog. And if there is no Sonic near you, make one at home. You'll thank me.

Moving on up, to the East side

We finally got a deluxe apartment in the sky.

So we (Siobhan and Sean) are moving to NYC in January, so I thought it would be fun/lame to blog about various things and upload pictures and stories and Siobhan recipes for our legions of friends and followers to read about.

So here goes nothing...