Fish Pie

Yesterday I woke up... went upstairs as normal and AnneMarie asks me if I could make a fish pie for lunch... A WHAT? Obviously I didn't know what it was, let alone how to make it.  SO she kind of describes to me what it is and I go online to find a recipe.  Fish pie is poached fish in a cream sauce with hard boiled eggs, peas, and mash potatoes on top... sounds... interesting.  I made it but was a little leery to eat it.  I decided to go ahead and try it and actually it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! Not that I'm going to make it again!

We also had an unexpected dinner guest last night.  Michael brought someone home from work who was in from out of town.  He was from the UK.  I really enjoy dinner guest... expected or not.  They have been so far very nice and easy to talk to! This one had even been to St. Louis once.  The guests we've had so far are always interested in what it's "really" like in America.  Of course, I can only offer my opinion but it certainly leads to great conversations.

Today AnneMarie, Charlotte, Alex, and I went out for lunch! Hooray! I'm always up for going out! We ate at this wonderful restaurant.  I'm even starting to recognize most French food words ;) which is good because I need to know what I'm ordering!  I had a chicken stuffed ravioli in a tomato cream sauce with asparagus! And a chocolate eclair for dessert! It was delicious! When we got back from lunch AnneMarie asked if I would make a shepherds pie (apparently I'm the new cook around here).  Other than that today has been pretty laid back!

Tomorrow I'm headed to Trier, Germany! With some other au pairs! I'll post when I get back... I'm sure there will be lots of stories and pictures ;)


***** Almost forgot the best part of the week! I'm officially moved into my own bedroom! I have a double bed, tv, good internet connection, and a bathroom.  It makes such a difference to have my things out of the suitcases finally! Pics coming...

Dinner Party and Today

The dinner party was a success!  Thanks for all your confidence in me... haha.  

It was definitely more a challenge than cooking at home.  Talk about conversions! I started out in the morning making a pound cake.  Luckily I found one online that used the metric system so that helped.  However, I was without a mixer.  Now pre kitchen aide mixer at my house we made everything with a fork (cookies, cakes, brownies) so it wasn't that big of a deal but just added some time.  I weighed the flour and the sugar... even the butter to get the right amounts.  They don't use cups of anything over here.  It's all weighed in grams. Then I go to bake it... no loaf pans or a bundt pan... so I used a casserole dish.  Hey it worked.  Turned out just fine.  Plus I was cutting it up for tiramisu so it didn't really matter. 

That was probably the biggest obstacle in all the cooking. For an appetizer, I stuffed cherry tomatoes with an avocado pesto.  They were a big hit. I made roasted asparagus, a potato dish, and monkfish with an almond sauce.  I don't cook a lot of fish back home so that was a bit of a challenge but overall I think the meal turned out great.  We finished it off with raspberry tiramisu :) Oh and since there was no mixer... whipped the cream by hand.  

It was a wonderful night.  I joined the two couples for dinner after all the preparation was done.  The friends in from out of town are very nomadic.  They are from England but travel, travel, travel.  They once spent 20 months in North America driving around in an RV through Mexico, US, and Canada.  We talked a lot about what they saw in the states.  Overall, the evening turned out amazing.  I wouldn't mind doing that more often.  

Today, Nora (the nanny) and I took the two youngest children to a German music class.  I keep trying to come up with something to compare it to but I can't seem to find anything... very strange though.  Oh well it was an excuse to go somewhere besides this house.  I'm not used to staying in a house for so many hours so any excuse to get out I take!  This afternoon I took the bus into the city center.  I really love the city center in Lux.  I went to the post office and successfully bought stamps for future post cards and letters and such.  I had some time to kill before the next bus arrived so I went to Sephora and bought some lotion (exciting I know).  Then I decided to have an ice cream cone... sunny weather, care free afternoon... why not! I was craving peanut butter/chocolate of some sort but they don't seem to do peanut butter over here :( SO I went with caramel instead.  It was great! And for 1 Euro :) 

Well it's nearing midnight so I should get some sleep.  Keep those comments coming! Feel free to email me if you want! Miss you all! 

Burgundy, France

Well as many of you know I spent the weekend in France.  Hard to believe really....

We left Friday at noon and headed to the Burgundy region of France.  It was about a 3 and a half hour drive... a little crazy with 3 little ones in the car who didn't have their afternoon nap... yikes!  We made it and the house was GORGEOUS (my pics don't do it justice)

So kind of put both pictures together and that's the house.  They've turned it into two houses actually - one side they rent out, the other is kept for them.  Oh and did I fail to mention there is another "pool house" on the property that is big enough to rent out!  And the pool is there of course... too bad it was too cold to go swimming :( 

Friday night was very laid back.  Nothing special.  Saturday, however, was great.  Saturday morning we all went into town.  We walked around Beaune, France.  (pronounced Bone) It is a beautiful old city and was wonderful to walk around. We went to a shoe store to buy Francesca school shoes.  Then went to lunch... a beautiful French cafe :) I had a salad with goat cheese and walnuts... yummy! 

Then the family left for afternoon naps and I was free to wander the city by myself. 

I went on a tram tour of the city... there was an English car :) 

After the tour I went to visit the Hotel de Dieu. It was a hospital for the poor back in the 1400's.  The courtyard has an amazing rooftop that can only be seen from the inside.  

After the hospital I walked around town and enjoyed the view.  So much fun.  Also got a pan au chocolat from a bakery... YUM! 

Saturday night I "babysat" aka sat at the house while the children slept so AnneMarie and Michael went out to eat with some friends.  I'm glad they got to get out for a bit and I was able to talk to my dad for a longer time!  

Sunday was laid back.  We went on a walk... up a hill to look over the area.... breathtaking! 

We drove back on Sunday... and the rest is history.  

I'm going to try to find another website to upload all my photos too.  Putting them in the blog takes a lot of time.  When I do I'll let you know... for your viewing pleasure ;) 

Tonight I am the cook for AnneMarie and Michael and two out of town guests.  I am very excited.  Dessert is in the oven... Can't wait to tell you how it goes!