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My little NYC foodie friend spent only two days in her apartment last month due to work travel.  Can you imagine?!  One of her many destinations was San Fran, home to some of the FRESHEST food that will ever hit your lips.

Here are her current faves:

The Slanted Door - Vietnamese

Flour + Water - Farm-t0-Table nominated for James Beard Best New Restaurant 2010

Frances - French

Wayfare Tavern - Comfort Food from Tyler Florence

Delfina or Delifina Pizza - Italian

Benu - Corey Lee, one of the best up and coming chefs, American

Michael Mina - fancy schmancy SF classic

I have to add one more of my personal favorites: Foreign Cinema that offers farm-to-table fare with a lovely (and not overbearing scene) while a foreign movie is projected on the back wall of the patio.  Perfect evening out in SF if you ask me.

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Obviously no one would complain if you served this at your holiday party!

Kahlúa Peppermint Mocha Hot Chocolate

• 2 parts Milk
• 1 part Drinking Chocolate
• 1 part Kahlúa Peppermint Mocha

Bring milk to a simmer. Whisk in drinking chocolate. Simmer for 30 seconds while stirring. Add Kahlúa Peppermint Mocha. Garnish with peppermint stick and marshmallows.

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My stepmother doesn’t fancy herself a cook, and I argue about it with her EVERY holiday.  The woman cooks up comfort food that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I finally got her to write down her Grandma Harper’s  cornbread dressing recipe to share with you.  Make this for the people you love most, it is the best gift you’ll give them this holiday.

You’ll need:

• 1 box jiffy cornbread mix (follow instructions on box)
• 2 pieces white bread
• 2-3 yellow squash
• 4 stalks of celery
• 1 - 2 lg. onion (white or yellow)
• 2 eggs
• 1 can chicken bouillon
• Pulled rotisserie chicken or turkey (that they make in the store) - optional
• butter to taste
• poultry seasoning
• oregano
• thyme
• salt and pepper (lots of pepper!)

To make this heavenly stuffing, you:

1. Make cornbread according to box instructions, let cool.
2. Slice the squash, thin, and boil together with sliced onions until very tender. Drain it.
3. When cornbread is cool break it up into a large bowl.  Leave some chunky pieces, don’t break it up too fine. Tear the white bread pieces also, leave some pieces chunky.
4. Sautee the sliced onions and sliced celery with heated EVOO, or butter until clear.

To the cornbread:

1. Add some butter to your liking along with the very tender squash, eggs (beaten by hand) into the broken up cornbread.
   Add the dry seasonings to your liking.
2. Add enough liquid bullion to this mixture to make it moist, knowing that when you bake it, the bullion will be absorbed.
3. Add the pulled chicken/turkey.
4. Bake covered at 350 degrees in a glass pan for about 45 minutes.

Notes:

1.  HEB on the katy freeway or Central Market sells the plastic containers in produce that have the onion and celery, with the seasoning already mixed in and ready to go. It’s called stuffing starter (it’s fresh)

2.  If you feel like the dressing is getting to dry in the oven you can add more bullion right on top of the stuffing while in the oven.

3.  During the last 3 or 4 minutes, I like to brown my dressing a little by taking off the foil and BROILING the dressing, just to add a brownish crunchier top.

4.  Another good addition to this dressing is a can of drained peas in the dressing mix.

That is all there is to it!  Good luck.

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My fridge looks like the prepared food section at Whole Foods….after a hurricane warning.  As you can tell I haven’t actually made any of the recipes I’ve posted in a while, but with all of my family in town, that is about to change!

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— By Nutritionista

My boyfriend and I were at Sam’s Club the other night, and we wanted something easy we could eat for dinner. Enter the $5 (actually, less than that!) rotisserie chicken. Not only is it delicious, it’s also super versatile. Don’t believe me? Well, here are 10 things to make with a rotisserie chicken — one will feed two people for at least 3-4 meals!

1. Soup. Remove the breast meat and throw the rest in a soup pot. Fill the pot up with water so it barely covers the chicken. Add carrots, onions, parsnips, dill — whatever you like. Season with salt and pepper, then cook for a couple hours (or until the veggies are cooked through). You can add in the breast meat later, or save it for another dish.
2. Tacos/tostadas/fajitas. Shred the chicken and prepare your toppings of choice (cheese, salsa, guac, etc.). Serve in a tortilla or just eat everything over a bed of lettuce (totally my pick).
3. Chicken salad. Rachel Wilkerson has a fab recipe I highly recommend.
4. Asian chicken coleslaw. This recipe would work well!
5. BBQ chicken pizza. I mean, chicken and BBQ on a pizza… What’s not to completely adore about that?! You can really go nuts with this concept as long as you have BBQ sauce and chicken, but if you’re more of a recipe person — here you go.
6. Thai curry. Combine chicken with chopped bell peppers, onions, and coconut milk. Simmer on medium heat and add curry powder to taste. Such a delicious dish that’s perfect for these chilly winter months!
7. Chicken burgers. Blend chicken with carrot, celery, onion and Italian seasoning. Add olive oil and an egg. Form into patties and saute until golden brown.
8. Casserole. Combine the chicken with your favorite “Cream of ____” soup (just watch the ingredient list!), a couple chopped potatoes, and your favorite dark leafy green (kale holds up well), then bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes. Sort of like a stew, mighty delicious.
9. Whatever Real Simple says. I have a mild love affair with the mag/website, so I’m going to do what they tell me.
10. Chicken potpie empanadas. This recipe deserved its own bullet, trust.

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There is no denying Twitter and Facebook have become an integral component in marketing campaigns.  With analytics, hashtags and Google alerts, companies can collect demographic data as to who, what, where, when, and why people are using their products and services.  With the launch of Research.ly that process just got a lot more efficient.

A new website from Jodee Rich, CEO of PeopleBrowser, and ex-CMO of Kodak Jeffrey Hayzlett, Research.ly allows you to collect analytics on your target nice in real-time.  They are the only company to have an index of every single tweet ever recorded!

They offer 3 keys services that will prove to be priceless for marketers:

1.     Instant Demographic Analytics

In one quick search you can uncover people who are talking about a particular interest and create a social graph that considers location, sentiment, gender, age, hashtags, links.

2. Degrees of Separation

Not only will you find out who is talking, but you can also see how they are connected, like LinkedIn.

3. Trending and Influencer Charts

See how topics and tweets go viral when any keyword is translated into analytics instantly.  In doing so, you will see who are the major influencers for particular products, brands, and demographics. You can use tweets going back as old as 30 days.

A few screen shots will give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

A more specific example might be helpful.  Let’s say Coke launches a new ad campaign during prime time TV hours and execs want to know what mothers in San Francisco are saying about it, they need only submit the info into Research.ly.  Or it could go the other way around.  Coke launches the new campaign and they realize that mothers in San Francisco have been the most receptive.

Because of the degree of intricacy of the data, the service is really only helpful for bigger brands.  According to execs at Research.ly, the Fortune 500 companies that have already signed up for the $99.00 per month service, they have seen success in filtering and targeting very specific demographics.

“ReSearch.ly is about mining that one-percent of gold in a universe of social media information,” says Jeffrey Hayzlett, former CMO of Kodak, author and marketing expert. “With ReSearch.ly, that gold is the priceless and relevant information marketers need.”

(Originally published on @HoustonSocial for The Houston Chronicle)

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— Lindsey Rae, Indie Rocker

MR Note:  Lindsey does it again! This guy is awesome.

While I was doing the very serious, focused and official research for this weekend’s post on holiday music, I was thrilled to come across a Youtube video by UK singer/songwriter Liam Frost.

A LITTLE ABOUT HIS PAST

I was completely charmed by his adorable Manchester accent and warm, rich voice, and felt compelled to do more research.  After a little clicking around, I discovered that 27-year-old Frost has been performing since the tender age of fifteen, and has been active on the UK circuit since at least 2005.  He has left little mark on the US market since a successful showcase at SXSW 2006, despite the 2009 release of his truly lovely solo album, “We Ain’t Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain”.

WHY I WAS TOTALLY SEDUCED

The album is a treasure from start to finish, finely mixing joy and melancholy with a maturity that belies the artist’s age.  Frost reaches occasionally for subtle hints of blues while keeping his lyrics and melody rooted in a more straightforward, folky tradition.  With this effort, I found myself surreptitiously seduced by one track after another, like a school girl charmed by a boy’s smile. There’s a surprisingly sexy earnestness in Frost’s music that makes me feel as if each song were written with care, and just for me.  I MELT!

You can get hold of a copy of “We Ain’t Got No Money…” at any of your standard online retailers, but I’ve got a special treat just for More Than Mary readers.  The charming Mr. Frost has graciously agreed to allow us access to a free mp3 download of the song “Skylark Avenue”.  Click through to download the track, but hurry!  I’ve promised Liam that readers will have just one month to access the download.  Thanks again to Liam for sharing this great track with us!

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— Ashleigh Underwood, Your Interior Designer.

MR Note:  When I moved into my apartment, rug shopping was hands down the most frustrating part of designing the space.  Area rugs define the room and are soooo expensive.  I couldn’t take the plung in an online store because I could only imagine the hassle in returning it.  Ashleigh has great options here to consider when you’re ready to decorate.

Area rugs are art on the floor.  They will make or break your room.  As most good designers practice, I choose one as the color and design inspiration for my clients spaces.  But because of price, material, style, color and availability, few decor decisions are as daunting as selecting an area rug for your space.

YOUR BEST BET

Although they come in a huge array of styles and materials, you should know that most worth purchasing are fairly expensive.  I always recommend wool to clients as it is the most common and surprisingly easy to clean.  The price is determined by the type of wool used (and of course the brand), but I know that sinking some cash into a beautiful rug is one of the best monetary outlays in any design scheme.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Synthetic fiber rugs can be fantastic to look at and in certain situations are ultimately the best choice for high traffic areas like the kitchen or hallway. (I have an area rug in my breakfast nook in my kitchen!)

Silk is outrageously beautiful and expensive so I recommend you use one in an extraordinarily special place like the living room or master bedroom.  Just not in a place where it is likely to get damaged.

Cotton rugs, as far as I am concerned, are a big no no.  They don’t wear well and are very absorbent which can lead to issues like mold. Plus they soak up stains like it is their job.  Luckily they are inexpensive so you could replace them fairly often or if they are small enough, throw ‘em in the wash!

Here are a few of my all time favorites.

Paul Smith’s Iconic Swirl Rug for The Rug Company is hand made of Tibetan wool and is sure to be a family heirloom in years to come.  It would work just about anywhere in a Modern, Contemporary or Transitional design.

Thakoon’s design for Elson & Company is also made in Tibet of its finest wool and ten percent of the sale from each carpet sold will benefit the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Fashion Targets Breast Cancer initiative.  I love this rug for it’s artistic sensibility and slightly wild child attitude.

Like everything Diane von Furstenberg does, the Climbing Leopard is class and elegance itself.  Made of Wild Spun Silk, its luster and brilliance can only be seen in person.  This is an amazing piece because it could be easily used in a Traditional design as well as a purely Modern one.  I love that The Rug Company has brought together the artistry of design with that of manufacturing to create this most unique of rugs.

As I sit in my office writing this blog, the Safari Rug from West Elm is keeping my tootsies warm.  I get so many complements on this rug and I giggle inside because I know how inexpensive it was.  The color of the Zebra stripes varies from light purple to heather gray depending on the light and time of day.  A little animal print goes a long way but in this case, it is just the right amount!

I just discovered this rug from Elson & Company and fell in loce.  Two days later I spotted it in my favorite online magazine, Lonny.  Designed by Cynthia Rowley, I think that it would be satisfying to men and women alike and the greyed out colors would make it a prize piece in any room that you want to feel really relaxed.

I was disappointed to see that Design Within Reach was not carrying this rug anymore but luckily it is still available directly from it’s inspired designer, Angela Adams.  It comes in several different colorways but I find this one the most pleasing.  I just want to drift away on the froth and foam and find myself on some wild island in the Caribbean.

I have not had a nursery to work on recently but as soon as I do, I am desperate to use this magical and whimsical rug.  At 60” round it would fit just about anywhere and the unique wool crewel work creates textural interest as well as the vibrant colors.  I have found the rugs from Anthropoligie to be of high quality and fantastic design.

Also found at Anthropologie, this Fireworks rug comes in several different sizes, including a pretty fantastic runner.  The exuberance of this rug just crys out for a dynamic and bold person to use it in their eclectic space.

Often hallways are overlooked as spaces to create a design statement, but I think  they can be little jewel boxes to really show your personality.  Rather than lead you straight down the hall, the twitsts and turns of the Anni Albers Rug could lead the visitor to take some time and check out your amazing collection of….family photos, framed antique stamps, shadow boxes filled with little trinkets you have collected on your travels.

Whatever you choose, let your area rug be an extension of your personality, laid out there for all to adore just as much as they do you.

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I met this amazing woman Leslie at a dinner party last week.  She’s young, beautiful, successful, and is an Ironman athlete!

We hit it off instantly and now she wants to run tomorrow night….

I tried to warn her that my run is more like a jog because of my back, but she says “it will be a light one.”  But that could mean 10K to a f-ing Ironwoman!!

When we talked I asked if she would help me with my form.  I actually think my form is fine, but the way I land using only the outside edge of my foot I think is part what causes my pain when I run.

So, I’m going to agree to this as a learning experience.  Fingers crossed I survive!

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